Karnataka begins to release Cauvery water to TN

Karnataka on Thursday night began releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu from the Krishna Raja Sagar Reservoir as per a Supreme Court directive.

Irrigation Department sources said four crush gates of the reservoir have been opened for releasing water.

The current water level at the reservoir stood at 9.08 ft as against its full level of 124 ft, they said.

The apex court had yesterday in an interim order directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu, and asked the Cauvery Monitoring Committee to hold its meeting to decide the amount of water required by the states.

The court had also said the interim order would continue till the CMC files its report.

It also asked the committee to meet on December 7 or December 8 to find out water requirement for crops in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for the month of December. The report would be submitted to the authority concerned.

"Both states are distressed and we have to see that we can save crops of both the states. We would keep our eyes open to the requirement of both the states and find out practical solution of the problem," the bench had observed.

Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had stated in the assembly that he would lead a team of MPs from the Cauvery basin on Friday to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for apprising him of the distress situation in his state.

The delegation would brief him on the "poignant situation" in the state which is hit by drought and water shortage, Shettar said.

He said they would also seek legal opinion and views of experts before deciding the next step on the issue.