Last Update: June 01, 2023, 12:57 PM IST
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (File photo/PTI)
Taking strong exception to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s reported remarks on going ahead with the reservoir project across the Cauvery river, Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami said the neighboring state should not work against the interests of downstream states.
Opposition AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Thursday warned neighboring Karnataka of protests if it goes ahead with the construction of the Mekedatu dam project, which the party sees as an attempt to turn TN into a desert.
Taking strong exception to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s reported remark to go ahead with the reservoir project across the Cauvery river, Leader of the Opposition K Palaniswami said the neighboring state should not work against the interests of downstream states.
“As per the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, Karnataka has no right to stop or alter the natural flow of any river. Even the final verdict on the Cauvery water dispute is clear that no irrigation project should be taken up without the consent of the downstream states.
In such a situation, the announcement of the Congress government in Karnataka went against the interests of Tamil Nadu. He claimed that any move to build a reservoir project across the Kaveri at Mekedatu would seek to turn Tamil Nadu, dependent on Kaveri water for irrigation and drinking, into a desert.
“There is no point depending on the ruling DMK here on the issue,” he said. The AIADMK strongly condemns the attempt by the Karnataka Congress government to build a dam at Mekedatu and warns the Karnataka state government that the AIADMK will organize protests to prevent Tamil Nadu from turning into a desert.
Meanwhile, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan also condemned the attempt to build the dam and said that the final verdict in the Cauvery dispute is clear that no construction should be done on the Cauvery river without the approval of Kerala, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu.
The Tamil Nadu government also strongly protested Shivakumar’s reported remarks on his state going ahead with the construction of a reservoir on the Kaveri river at Mekedatu, expressing surprise at ‘irritating’ its neighbor within days of coming to power.
Minister of State for Water Resources Duraimurugan on Wednesday tried to remind Shivakumar that the proposed project in Karnataka finds no mention in the Cauvery Disputes Tribunal order or the final judgment of the Supreme Court.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI,