Farmers urge Stalin to press Karnataka to release TN's share of Cauvery water

TIRUCHY: A section of farmers staged a protest in Tiruchy on Wednesday, seeking the state government’s intervention to press Karnataka to release the pending 50 TMC water for April, May, and June, thereby ensuring no disruption in the ongoing kuruvai cultivation.

The members of Tamil Nadu Tank and River Ayacutdars Welfare Association, led by the state president P Viswanathan, gathered in front of the Tiruchy collectorate and staged a protest for various demands.

Addressing the farmers, Viswanathan noted that the Karnataka government owes Tamil Nadu 50 TMC of water for April, May, and June as per the Supreme Court direction. He urged Chief Minister MK Stalin to initiate steps to fetch the pending share from Karnataka, which would support the kuruvai and the subsequent samba cultivation.

“The Supreme Court has detailed in its order to Karnataka about the share of water to be released from the Cauvery. However, the Karnataka government has not obeyed the order and failed to release the rightful share to Tamil Nadu,” Viswanathan said.

Highlighting that Karnataka is in the practice of releasing the excess water during monsoon times, he said the water should be released regularly. “While there is a need for at least 118 TMC water for kuruvai cultivation alone, the present storage of 84 TMC at Mettur reservoir is inadequate to go ahead with the cultivation, and the state government must get us the due share of water,” Viswanathan said further.

Meanwhile, Viswanathan also pointed out that the Tamil Nadu government has allocated over Rs 46,000 crore for the 2025-26 agriculture budget; however, nothing has materialised so far. “While the farmers have commenced the cultivation, the state government must ensure that cooperative banks disburse the crop loans without delay,” he said.

He also stated that the farmers who have applied for free power supply have been waiting for years, and the government should take immediate action, he said.