The chances of an accord on the Cauvery waters dispute, principally between Mysore and Tamil Nadu, at the next inter-State conference in Madras on October 27, are considered difficult in view of the basic differences in the approach of the two States. This was the assessment of knowledgeable people after yesterday’s inter-State talks in New Delhi. Tamil Nadu swears by the 1924 agreement on sharing the waters. Mysore, without repudiating that agreement, has reservations on its application to Mysore following reorganisation of States in 1956. The Mysore Chief Minister, Mr. Veerendra Patil, who returned today [October 13], is understood to have done some “plain-speaking” at the Delhi talks about the Centre’s attitude all these years to the dispute. On a number of previous occasions, Mr. Patil has criticised the Centre for not adopting a helpful attitude towards Mysore’s rights under the 1924 agreement, even as the Government of India had been reportedly insisting on Mysore to keep to the “limit flows” theory. This, it is pointed out here [Bangalore], took away Mysore’s rights to utilise its share of 45 t.m.cft. of the Cauvery waters.