BENGALURU: Karnataka Water Resources Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy on Saturday denied allegations that the state government had released Cauvery water from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) Dam to Tamil Nadu.Chaluvarayaswamy said Karnataka had not released water to Tamil Nadu from KRS in June or July, despite being expected to start releases from June.“No water has been released from the KRS Dam for Tamil Nadu. We are supposed to release water to Tamil Nadu from June itself. But we did not release water in June or July,” he said.The minister said the actual outflow from the reservoir could exceed the quantity ordered for release. He added that the Cauvery Water Management Authority had now directed Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs daily, while around 10,000 cusecs was being released from the Kabini reservoir.“Now, the Cauvery Water Management Authority has directed us to release 12,000 cusecs. Around 10,000 cusecs is being released from Kabini. Seepage water is also reaching Tamil Nadu,” Chaluvarayaswamy said.His remarks came after BJP leaders and Kannada organisations alleged that water had been released from KRS around midnight. BJP Mandya unit spokesperson Manjunath claimed the release had increased the flow of the Cauvery river and shared a video purportedly showing water being released from the dam.Speaking to the media, Manjunath, “The water was released from KRS around midnight. The flow in the Cauvery river has increased following the release.”He alleged that the release contradicted the state government’s earlier position that it would not release water to Tamil Nadu because of concerns over supplies for farmers and drinking-water needs.Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj also accused the government of secretly releasing water and said his organisation, Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, would protest at the KRS Dam.“There is nothing new about it. They (the government) are releasing water compulsorily. They released it earlier, saying that it was released from Kabini. They very cleverly released it from the beginning,” Nagaraj said.Nagaraj also alleged that there was an understanding between Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph C Vijay. He claimed the government had refused to provide details of water inflow and outflow when he sought them, citing the technical nature of the figures.“This is not right. There should now be a high-level investigation into this,” Nagaraj said.He further alleged that people protesting against the alleged release were being suppressed and announced plans for a larger demonstration.“Within two days, we will lay siege to the Krishnaraja Sagar Dam. We will hold a massive procession from Bengaluru,” said Nagaraj, a former MLA.The allegations come after the Cauvery Water Management Authority directed Karnataka on August 12 to release 12,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily for 15 days.The Karnataka government has said it would explore legal options, including challenging the direction in the Supreme Court.
