New Delhi/Bengaluru: Seeking to underscore Karnataka’s deepening water crisis, chief minister DK Shivakumar on Wednesday invited his Tamil Nadu counterpart C Joseph Vijay to undertake an aerial survey of the Cauvery basin and inspect the state’s reservoirs before or after the proposed bilateral talks on Aug 3.“We have invited Vijay to inspect the Cauvery reservoirs and will keep a chopper on standby for an aerial survey. We will welcome our guest with due respect,“ Shivakumar said after a meeting with legal experts in Delhi.The outreach comes as Karnataka prepares to legally challenge the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) directive requiring the state to release 3,500 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 15 days from July 29, amounting to nearly 4 tmc ft.Karnataka is hoping for relief on Thursday, after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) convened an emergency meeting to consider the state’s objections to the CWRC’s order. While the CWRC serves as the technical regulator, the CWMA has the statutory authority to take and enforce the final decision.In Bengaluru, deputy CM G Parameshwara said while Vijay’s visit for bilateral talks is yet to be confirmed, the dialogue between neighbouring states reflects the spirit of cooperative federalism. Responding to BJP criticism over the proposed meeting, he asked whether the opposition preferred “perpetual conflict“ between the two states.On Tamil Nadu’s objections to the proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir project, Parameshwara reiterated that the matter is pending before the judiciary. “The court has already asked what the issue is if Karnataka builds a dam within its own territory while releasing Tamil Nadu’s allocated share. If they have objections, they should place them before the court,” he said.Parameshwara also said Shivakumar plans to convene an all-party meeting after returning to Bengaluru to build political consensus on the issue.“When water is available, Tamil Nadu need not ask; we release it. Last year and even earlier, we released more than our allocated share. But this year, when we are struggling to secure even drinking water, how justified is it to insist on maintaining a flow of 3,500 cusecs?” he asked.On drought relief, Parameshwara said the govt will reassess July rainfall in August before submitting an updated report to the Centre. A central team is expected to visit the state in Sept to assess the situation and determine financial assistance.He added that Karnataka had urged the Centre to declare the affected regions a natural calamity and relax the existing drought declaration norms, arguing that several taluks with rainfall deficits of up to 80% currently do not qualify for central assistance under the prevailing criteria.
