K’taka presses for distress water-sharing formula

Mysuru: A day after Tamil Nadu threatened to move the Supreme Court after Karnataka said it could not release 15,000 cusecs of water, as demanded by the neighbouring state, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the distress over the poor availability of water should be shared by both the states.“Tamil Nadu has been demanding its share of water. But the water levels in the dams in the region are lower due to deficit rain in Kerala and Kodagu,” the chief minister told reporters in Mysuru. Siddaramaiah, however, said a final decision on releasing water to Tamil Nadu will be taken by the government after holding discussions with the experts.On Tamil Nadu’s demand for its full quota of 39.7 tmc-feet of water from the state’s reservoirs, Siddaramaiah said: “As monsoon is playing truant this year and water has not filled its reservoirs due to the scarcity of rain in Kabini and KRS reservoir catchment areas, the state is not in a position to release water right now.” “It will be released on the distress sharing formula after seeing its requirements for water to protect standing crops, irrigation, and drinking needs,” the CM added.