DMK asks SC to force Karnataka to release Cauvery water

The DMK party is taking its case to the Supreme Court, asking for an order that forces Karnataka to release water from the Cauvery river. The petition, filed Saturday, demands that Karnataka fully implement a July 28 directive from the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee, confirmed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority on July 30. That order requires 3,500 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water to flow each day at the interstate point in Biligundlu.

So far, Karnataka has not complied. The DMK's application, filed by advocates Richardson Wilson and Lokesh Krishna and settled by senior advocate P. Wilson, says the state has accumulated a backlog of roughly 9.46 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) as of July 26. To make up the shortfall, the party is asking the court to order Karnataka to release about 7,000 cusecs per day over a 15-day period. The CWMA would monitor the releases and file a compliance report.

The DMK's filing accuses Karnataka's top officials of refusing to cooperate. "The responsible functionaries of the State of Karnataka, including at the highest levels of its government, have openly and publicly declared in press conferences that the State of Karnataka 'will not release the water' and will instead pursue its remedies," the petition says.

The dispute reaches millions of people. About 14.9 lakh acres in the Cauvery delta depend on the Mettur reservoir for irrigation. The reservoir's water comes from releases made by Karnataka at Biligundlu. The petition says four million farmers and 10 million agricultural laborers rely on the Mettur water for their livelihoods.