Do not release Cauvery water to TN: KPCC

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on Thursday urged the state government not to release Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu, as mandated by the Supreme Court, though it would amount to contempt of its order.

"The government should not release Cauvery water to our neighbour even though it will attract contempt of the apex court," order," KPCC president G Parameshwar told mediapersons.

He said a Congress delegation would meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi and submit to him facts about the 'distressing situation' prevailing in the state due to drought and water shortage problems.

The KPCC chief also faulted the state government for its 'failure' to effectively present the Cauvery water sharing issue before the Supreme Court, Cauvery River Authority and Cauvery Monitoring Committee.

The government had not taken Congress into confidence over the issue, Parameshwar said. "It did even consult us before meeting with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa when she visited Bangalore for talks on the issue," he said.

The Supreme Court had on Wednesday directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to TN and asked CMC to hold its meeting to decide the amount of water required by the states.

The Apex Court had also said its interim order would continue till CMC filed its report. It asked the committee to meet on Thursday or Friday and posted the case for further hearing on December 10.