Even as the State received the lowest quantum of Cauvery flows during the southwest monsoon (June-September) in the last two decades, Union Water Resources Secretary Dhruv Vijai Singh is to visit Chennai and Bangalore on Thursday (October 4) to meet officials of the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments for discussions on the Cauvery issue.
His discussions in Chennai and Bangalore would form part of his preparations for the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC)’s meeting in New Delhi on October 8 to review the position.
Mr Singh told The Hindu over the phone on Monday evening that the proposed visit was part of “my work” though he did not reveal full details of his trip immediately.
“If possible, I would like to cover some more areas,” he said.
Officials of the Tamil Nadu government, led by Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi, are expected to make a presentation on the hardships being experienced by the State as a result of the refusal of the Karnataka government to release water even as per a distress sharing formula evolved by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
On Friday last, the Supreme Court directed Karnataka to release 9,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water as decided in the Cauvery River Authority (CRA)’s meeting on September 19.
The officials here say the State has not yet realised the enhanced flows.
During the month of September, 17.55 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) was realised at the Mettur dam. Even if one were to take into account orders of the Supreme Court and the CRA, the State should have got marginally higher than 25 tmc ft.
Compared to this figure, there was at least a deficit of eight tmc ft. Under the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal’s interim order of June 1991, the State’s due for September is 29.36 tmc ft.
Between June and August, 10.5 tmc ft was received. The cumulative realisation of inflow for the last four months was 28 tmc ft.
As per the interim order, the State’s due for the first four months of a water year (June-May) is 137 tmc ft.
Present level
On Monday morning, the water level of the dam stood at 73.54 ft (full level: 120 ft) with a storage of 35.82 tmc ft (capacity: 93.47 tmc ft). Inflow was 3,083 cusecs while the discharge was 13,708 cusecs.
Staff Reporter writes from Krishnagiri:
The water released by Karnataka from K.R. Sagar Dam had not reached Biligundulu in Krishnagiri district, the entry point of Tamil Nadu, till Monday evening.
An official from the Central Water Commission told The Hindu that the CWC had received information that the water was released from the K.R. Sagar Dam on Saturday midnight as per the orders of the Cauvery River Authority and the Supreme Court and hoped that it would reach Biligundulu late Monday night or Tuesday morning.
