Putting up a united front on the Mahadayi dispute, leaders from the three major political parties in the State on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to attend the proposed meeting with his counterparts in Maharashtra and Goa in Mumbai over the issue “with an open mind.”
The meeting, earlier scheduled for October 21, has now been postponed. The date is yet to be fixed.
Speaking to presspersons after a two-hour meeting with floor leaders from the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party along with MLAs and MPs from the districts of north Karnataka, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the State would seek a total allocation of 36.55 tmcft of water.
Drought
Citing the drought situation in Gadag, Dharwad, Bagalkot and Belagavi and the decrease in ground water levels in these districts, the State had so far been asking for an interim relief of 7.5 tmcft from the total allocation for drinking purposes from the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal.
Asserting that the State had all along been insisting on a settlement outside the tribunal, the Chief Minister said that leaders of all political parties had deliberated on how to push Karnataka’s demand at the negotiation table.
Not rigid
“Leaders from all parties have suggested that we go to the meeting with a positive approach keeping in mind the State’s interests. In any negotiation, the parties concerned cannot be rigid. There should always be room for give and take. We will attend the meeting with an open mind,” he said.
H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD (S); B.S. Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar, and D.V. Sadananda Gowda of the BJP; and M. Mallikarjun Kharge and Veerappa Moily of the Congress were present.
