DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Sunday welcomed the petition filed by the State government in the Supreme Court for a direction to convene a meeting of the Cauvery River Water Authority.
In a statement here, he said that water from the Mettur dam could not be released for kuruvai cultivation as Karnataka had failed to release 36.15 tmcft water till July 20 as per the interim award of the Cauvery Tribunal.
“Forty five per cent of the cultivation in Tamil Nadu depends on Cauvery water and the opening of Mettur dam slated for June 12 was not done as Karnataka refused to release water during the distress period, citing failure of the monsoon. The dam has been opened only to provide drinking water supply,” Mr. Karunanidhi said.
Accusing Karnataka of not implementing the orders of Supreme Court or the Cauvery Tribunal, he said though Ms. Jayalalithaa had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as early as on May 10 for convening the meeting of the Cauvery River Water Authority, no steps had been taken in this regard.
Mr. Karunanidhi also came down on Ms. Jayalalithaa for having ridiculed the Cauvery River Authority in the past and describing it as a toothless body.
“She even wrote to then Prime Minister A.B. Vajapyee that she will not accept the Authority, which was set up due to the efforts taken by the DMK'', he said, adding that now she herself is writing to the Prime Minister for convening a meeting of the body.”
