The vexed Cauvery waters issue is once again likely to snowball into a major row, with Karnataka expressing its inability to release water to Tamil Nadu and also disfavouring a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority "at this
juncture," even as a Central team of experts is making an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in both the states.
A day after an all-party delegation from Tamil Nadu sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to direct
Karnataka to release an emergency supply of water, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said in Bangalore that the state was not in a position to release water as its people faced a "severe distress" situation.
Karnataka Chief Minister N Dharam Singh, who spoke to the prime minister on the telephone, said there was no need for convening a meeting of the CRA, which the Tamil Nadu team had demanded yesterday.
Meanwhile, members of Parliament from Karnakata belonging to the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal-Secular have decided to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow to apprise him of the ground reality in the state.
A three-member Central team of senior technical experts is also on a visit to key areas in the Cauvery basin both in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to make a 'factual' assessment of the situation.
The team -- comprising C B Vashinsta, member, Central Water Commission; A D Bhardwaj, commissioner in the ministry of water resources; and Joginder Singh, additional commissioner in the agriculture ministry -- is likely to submit its findings by June 12.