Parties protest Centre’s U-turn on CMB

While DMK, which had accused the Centre of changing its stance on the issue with an eye on the next Assembly poll in Karnataka, observed a day long fast in the Cauvery delta district of Thanjavur, the four-party People’s Welfare Front (PWF) comprising the MDMK, CPI, CPM and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) staged a protest demonstration at Tiruvarur to condemn the Centre for betraying the interests of Tamil Nadu on the Cauvery issue. DMK treasurer M K Stalin, senior leaders including Duraimurugan, E V Velu, K Ponmudy, M R K Panneerselvam, former Union Ministers T R Baalu and S S Palanimanickam and leaders of Congress and IUML, both allies of the DMK, also participated in the fast. Members of various farmers’ associations, including Tamil Nadu All Farmers Associations leader P R Pandian participated in the fast.  

While speaking during the fast, Stalin condemned AIADMK government for not convening an all-party meeting and challenged that DMK would take the baton to do it and also meet the Prime Minister and the President.  PWF convenor and MDMK general secretary Vaiko personally led the peaceful demonstration in Tiruvarur to condemn the Centre’s decision of not to form the CMB. Apart from him, VCK Leader Thol Thirumavalavan, CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, CPM state secretary G Ramakrishnan, farmers and representatives of various farmers’ associations participated in the demonstration. Meanwhile, PMK has announced an agitation on Saturday.

The high-level Central Technical Committee which began a two-day visit of the rain starved Cauvery basin in Karnataka on Friday assured to provide a fair assessment of the situation.

Team Leader and Central Water Commission Chairman G S Jha, responding to the memorandum submitted by Karnataka Minister for Water Resources M B Patil during the preliminary discussions, promised a fair assessment of the situation and strike a balance between two contesting states, official sources said. Patil in a power point presentation told the members of the committee that Karnataka was already deficit by 20 tmc ft this year and would not be in a position to release further water to Tamil Nadu. Presenting a grim situation prevailed in the Cauvery basin due to failure of Southwest monsoon this year, the Minister, said, ‘’The neighbouring Tamil Nadu was placed in a better position in view of the probable normal NorthEast monsoon’’. He also pleaded with the central team to take into account of the rainfall of the Northeast monsoon in Tamil Nadu before working out the distress formula to be shared by all the riparian states.

Explaining the extreme difficult situation faced by the Karnataka due to poor rainfall for the second consecutive year, he said ‘’Our farmers were put to a great hardship as they were able to go for sowing in an area of about of only 6.15 lakh acres and the standing crops in about 1.88 lakh acres got damaged and whatever remaining is facing severe soil moisture stress’’. Senior officials of Karnataka including Chief Secretary Subhash Chandra Kuntia, Principal secretary, Department of water resources, Rakesh Singh, Maheshwar Rao, Principal Secretary Department of Agriculture were present among others at the event. The representatives from Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka who are also touring with the Central Technical team, were also present. The committee was sought by the Supreme Court to assess the ground reality in the area in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and submit its report by October 17.

In a bid to assuage the ruffled feathers of farmers’ groups in the state, BJP on Friday said that it would not act against their interests and expressed hope that the Centre forms a strong Cauvery Management Board soon. Speaking to reporters at Thirukkadaiyur in the district, BJP national secretary H Raja Raja alleged the DMK-Congress combine was responsible for all the problems in the Cauvery dispute. “In 1974, DMK failed to renew the 1924 Cauvery River Pact. The DMK, instead of pressurising the Congress government in Karnataka to release water, is staging a drama at Thanjavur, blaming the Union government,” he said. Political parties had recently accused the Centre of “betraying” the state by seeking modification of a Supreme Court order asking it to constitute the Cauvery Water Management Board (CMB). The ruling AIADMK and the opposition DMK had alleged that the BJP-led government at the Centre made the move with an eye on the Karnataka Assembly polls, scheduled in 2018.