Jubilation and a sense of relief marked the reaction of delta farmers to the notification of the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal on Wednesday.
Farmers appreciated the efforts taken by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa over the past few months to get the final award notified.
P.Maniarasan, Coordinator of Cauvery Urimai Meetpu Kuzhu, said, “Though delayed, we welcome the notification of the award. But experience shows that without proper mechanism in place , Karnataka may not implement it.
P.R.Pandian, State Council Member of the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam said the Tamil Nadu government should ensure water for kuruvai this year by getting its due share of water from Karnataka as per the final award.
‘Justice denied’
Our Special Correspondent from Tiruchi adds:
The Federation of Farmers Associations - Cauvery Delta Districts, while expressing its happiness over the gazetting of the Award, however expressed disappointment that Tamil Nadu has lost largely ‘its ancient and traditional rights’ over the Cauvery.
Though the Centre has finally bowed to the Supreme Court and notified the award, the federation observed: “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Owing to the delay in constituting the Cauvery Tribunal for more than 20 years and the delay in delivering the final award for more than 16 Years, Tamil Nadu had lost largely its ancient and traditional rights over the Cauvery, Arupathi P.Kalyanam, its general secretary, said in a statement.
Our Staff Reporter from Karur adds:
The working president of Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association Mahadhanapuram V.Rajaram expressed wholehearted satisfaction over the outcome.
Justice done
“We feel that justice has been done finally,” he said.
At the same time, he said the delta ryots believed that the notification was neither a victory for Tamil Nadu farmers nor defeat for the opposite party in the case but only provided the opportunity to understand each other’s plight better.
