Cauvery row: CM Vijay puts Bengaluru visit on good afternoon DK Shivakumar's request

CHENNAI: Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has put on hold his proposed August 3 visit to Bengaluru after Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar requested him to defer it in view of the charged atmosphere in the state over the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s directive to release 3,500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days beginning July 29.

CM Vijay held discussions with senior officials of the Water Resources Department on Friday to assess the pros and cons of undertaking the proposed Bengaluru visit, sources said. However, before he could take a final call on the visit, the Karnataka CM conveyed its reluctance to proceed with the bilateral meeting.

The proposed meeting was initiated at the request of Chief Minister Vijay, with the Karnataka government expressing its willingness to hold bilateral talks on issues related to the Cauvery river water dispute and the Mekedatu reservoir project.

However, after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) rejected Karnataka's appeal to stay the CWRC's directive to release 3,500 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka appeared reluctant to proceed with the proposed talks.

Shivakumar’s appeal came amid widespread protests across Karnataka, particularly in Mandya, where demonstrators tore posters of Vijay's recently released film ‘Jana Nayagan’ and forced theatres at some places to halt its screening.

The Tamil Nadu government has neither issued an official communication nor made any public announcement regarding the postponement of the Bengaluru visit and talks.

According to sources, the State government is expected to make a decision on rescheduling the talks after assessing the evolving situation. The bilateral meeting was expected to cover both the Cauvery water-sharing dispute and the contentious Mekedatu dam project, which Tamil Nadu has consistently opposed, maintaining it would adversely affect the State's share of the Cauvery waters.

Opposition including the DMK, ADMK, PMK, AMMK, and the Left have opposed the proposed talks with Karnataka.