DK Shivakumar seeks to build bridge for dam; Tagore flags past ordeal

BENGALURU/TIRUCHY: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar struck a conciliatory note towards Tamil Nadu on Cauvery water sharing on Saturday, but remained firm on building the Mekedatu dam, asserting that the project was Karnataka's right even as he promised to honour the State's entitlement of 177 TMC of water.

"In politics, we will compete; in development, we will cooperate," Shivakumar told reporters, referring to his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the differences between the two states over the Cauvery issue.

Asserting that all political parties in Karnataka were united on the Mekedatu project, he said he was submitting the necessary documents to the Union ministries to secure forest and environmental clearances. He also appealed to the Centre to reject the Kasturirangan report, which recommends stringent central environmental oversight for projects in the Western Ghats, and clear the hurdles for the proposed reservoir.

Shivakumar invited the Tamil Nadu government to send a delegation to Karnataka, promising to explain how the project would also benefit Tamil Nadu. "It is our duty to protect their right. At the same time, it is our right to build the dam and provide them with water," he said.

His assurance, however, did little to assuage the Congress in Tamil Nadu. Pointing out that political parties across Karnataka had opposed releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu despite orders of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and the Supreme Court, TNCC president Manickam Tagore urged Vijay to take up the issue with the Prime Minister, backed by strong legal arguments.

He also questioned the PM's silence when Shivakumar sought his approval for the project at a public meeting in Mysuru. Tagore accused the Union government of being biased against Tamil Nadu and urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to convene an all-party meeting and mount a strong legal fight to protect Tamil Nadu's Cauvery rights.

"The PM should have responded immediately and taken a stand to protect Tamil Nadu's rights over the Cauvery. There should be no political influence in the sharing of river water or in the relations between the two states," Tagore told reporters in Thanjavur.

While Karnataka maintained that the dam would benefit both States and insisted on its right to build it, the TNCC warned that Tamil Nadu could not afford to lower its guard on the Cauvery issue.