Karnataka releases water, turns to Modi for parity

As violence over the Cauvery water dispute claimed its second life on Tuesday, and India’s IT capital limped back to normalcy, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, after a mammoth emergency Cabinet meeting, announced that the state will release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from Tuesday night.

At the end of two brain-storming sessions on Tuesday — first with veteran Congress leaders and later with his Council of Ministers — Mr Siddaramaiah reconciled to the fact that his government had to abide by the Supreme Court order on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till September 20, but took pains to work out a formula to ensure adequate drinking water to local residents till June 2017.

“Releasing water, following the Supreme Court directives after hearing our modification petition, is a very difficult proposition. However, considering the constitutional position of the Supreme Court, wherein defying its directions is not an option, the Cabinet has resolved to release water from tonight.”

And to nip further trouble in the IT hub and other parts of Karnataka, Mr Siddaramaiah warned that anyone attempting to trigger violence would be dealt with an “iron fist”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, meanwhile, expressed pain over developments in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and appealed for peace.

Mr Modi tweeted on Tuesday that the fallout of the Cauvery water dispute is “distressful”, and added, “I am personally pained at the developments.”

“Whenever the country has faced adverse circumstances, the people of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, just like people across the country have always handled the situation with sensitivity,” he tweeted.

In Bengaluru, on the law and order situation, Mr Siddaramaiah warned miscreants against taking law into their hands. “From the beginning, injustice has been meted out to Karnataka with respect to its share of Cauvery water... The government has decided to maintain law and order with iron fist. Stringent action will be taken against anyone taking law into their hands and damaging private or public property,’’ he said.

Assuring safety of Bengaluru’s citizens and linguistic minorities inthe state, he appealed to Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa toprotect property and lives of Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu.

Reiterating his earlier appeal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention in resolving Cauvery row, Mr Siddaramaiah said he had sought an appointment with the Prime Minister. “I will personally appeal to the Prime Minister to convene a meeting of chief ministers of four states. Law and order is not restricted to Karnataka alone,’’ Mr Siddaramaiah added.

Stating that the entire problem was result of lack of a national waterpolicy, Mr Siddaramaiah said he would urge the Prime Minister to announce one soon.

A day after violent protests broke out in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Bengaluru witnessed a total shutdown on Tuesday. Curfew clamped on riot-hit areas paid off as no untoward incident was reported. However, the number of deaths due to protests went up to two, with another man succumbing to his injuries at a hospital.

Despite curfew being in force in some areas, some groups tried to breach peace. But the police rushed to these spots in time and controlled the situation.

Additional police forces sent by the Centre were deployed at sensitive areas and flag marches were conducted to instil confidence among the residents.