- Convenes meeting of legislative party leaders on July 16 to decide on next course of action
- Karnataka braces for vigorous rainfall; holiday for schools, colleges
NE NEWS SERVICE
CHENNAI, BENGALURU, JULY 15
Coming down heavily against the Karnataka Government’s adamant attitude of not releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister MK Stalin on Monday announced the convention of a meeting of legislative party leaders on Tuesday, July 16 to decide on the next course of action in the inter-State river dispute.
As on July 15, 2024, while the total storage in the four main dams of Karnataka is 75.586 TMC ft, the water level in Tamil Nadu’s Mettur reservoir is a mere 13.808 TMC ft, he said in a statement here.
Moreover, as per the IMD’s forecast, there is scope for adequate rainfall. Hence, Karnataka declining to release water according to the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive is a betrayal of Tamil Nadu’s farmers, Stalin said, adding that the State will never accept it.
On Sunday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had said the State government was ready to release 8,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery every day to Tamil Nadu instead of the one TMC ft till the end of this month, as directed by the CWRC.
Stalin said he has convened a meeting of floor leaders of parties represented in the State Assembly to deliberate on the steps to be taken to secure Cauvery water. The meeting will be held at 11 am on July 16, 2024, at the State Secretariat here, under the leadership of Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan.
Also, the views of legal experts will be obtained and the next course of action to be pursued will be decided by the government.
Karnataka braces for vigorous rainfall; holiday for schools, colleges
Karnataka is likely to witness active to vigorous rainfall till July 16, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
Meanwhile, Uttara Kannada district deputy commissioner (DC) Laxmipriya has declared a holiday for all schools and PU colleges in Karwar, Ankola, Kumta, Honnavar, Bhatkal, Sirsi, Siddapur, Yellapur, Dandeli and Joida taluks on Monday, citing ‘red alert’ issued bythe IMD red alert indicates heavy to extremely heavy rain of over 20 cm in 24 hours. According to the IMD, Castle Rock in Uttara Kannada received the highest rainfall on Sunday, with 220 mm.
The weather department has issued a heavy rain and red alert from 1 pm on July 14 to 8.30 pm on July 16 in Uttara Kannada district. The vigorous monsoon conditions over Karnataka was due to the existing off-shore trough along the Maharashtra-north Kerala coast as well as the cyclonic circulation over west-central Bay of Bengal, off coastal Andhra Pradesh, which is channelling more moisture into Karnataka, said KSNDMC.
The rains are likely over coastal Karnataka, Malnad districts and parts of interior Karnataka till July 16. Weather experts have predicted that dams on the Kaveri and Krishna basins in the state are likely to get massive inflows in the coming week.
The Central Water Commission has issued an inflow forecast for six dams and barrages in Karnataka, where inflows are equal or exceed the specified threshold limit.
Kabini reservoir is put on red alert with storage levels increasing above 85 per cent. The water level in all six dams and barrages are likely to be regulated by the authorities when deemed necessary to avoid downstream flooding and upstream submergence.
