K’taka cannot build dam: Duraimurugan

Karnataka cannot go ahead with its proposal to build the Mekedatu dam, Tamil Nadu Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan said on Friday quoting Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.

The TN Minister said Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa’s assertion that the dam would be built was only for ‘politics’. Duraimurugan, who led a delegation of all parties represented in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, told reporters in the Delhi that they urged Shekhawat to not support Karnataka’s initiative to build a reservoir across the Cauvery as it would adversely affect TN farmers and the state.

The delegation also handed over resolutions adopted in a meeting of all legislature parties on July 12 in Chennai. “The Jal Shakti Minister said Karnataka did not fulfill any of the conditions stipulated by the Centre for preparation of the Detailed Project Report,” Duraimurugan said. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and requested him to facilitate early implementation of pending state works including the Mekedatu dam project. “I requested the PM to facilitate early implementation of some state works. He has agreed for all,” Yediyurappa said