Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi on Tuesday said he is “fighting” for getting resolved the Cauvery river water sharing dispute between his state and Karnataka, a problem that has been festering since the time of his birth, 85 years back.
“When issues arose on sharing of the Cauvery river water, the (then) Madras presidency and Mysore state entered into an agreement in 1924. So the problem had started then itself and I was also born that year,” the octogenarian leader recalled while inaugurating the platinum jubilee celebrations of Mettur Dam near Salem, through video conferencing.
While the then British government had first drafted a proposal to construct the dam in 1910, the Mysore rulers also made a proposal to the British to construct Krishnaraja Sagar Dam near Mysore to store Cauvery water, he said.
With a sanctioned sum of over Rs six crore, Mettur dam was completed in 1934, he said.
Underlining the DMK government’s commitment to farmers and others dependent on Cauvery water, Mr. Karunanidhi said the state has submitted a Rs 5,100 crore project to the Centre for approval which will focus on restoration and infrastructure projects to be undertaken at different places on Cauvery and its tributaries.
As part of the 75th year celebrations of Mettur Dam, which can hold water upto 120 feet, a 75 feet tower will be built for tourists’ benefit, he said, adding Rs one crore has been allotted for this purpose.
