Speakers at a conference on Cauvery crisis opined that construction of Mekedatu reservoir was mandatory to tide over water scarcity in a distress year.
The 28 MPs of Karnataka were also flayed for their silence on the issue and the stakeholders wanted them to speak out and air Karnataka’s stance on the issue and highlight the ground reality owing to monsoon failure.
The conference was organised by the Kannada Chaluvali Kendra Samithi here on Sunday, September 3. Former minister P.G.R. Sindhia strongly advocated the construction of Mekedatu reservoir and opined that it would be as beneficial to Tamil Nadu as Karnataka.
He said ‘’right-thinking’’ people in Tamil Nadu should be convinced of the imperatives of Mekedatu as it would serve the interest of both the States well.
’Public interest waning’
Mr. Sindhia also regretted the lack of political leadership on Cauvery issue besides the dwindling level of public interest. ‘’It is not only with regard to Cauvery but also with respect to river Krishna that people do not evince interest in it any more and political parties and leadership is a divided house on such matters,’’ said Mr. Sindhia.
He said Karnataka also lacked an ‘’effective lobby’’ in Delhi to speak for it unlike Tamil Nadu and said that some of the top positions in the bureaucracy of different ministries was held by IAS officers of Tamil Nadu who collectively spoke for their state.
The MPs were questioned for maintaining a muted silence despite the snowballing of the crisis and Mr. Sindhia said that the role of Karnataka’s representative in Delhi was also not clearly defined.
Former chairman of Cauvery Neeravari Nigama T. Thimme Gowda traced the history of the dispute and said that Karnataka’s view points have not been strongly or convincingly argued in Delhi. He seconded the views of Mr. Sindhia that Karnataka lacked an effective lobby to bolster its views in Delhi and said that there was also a strong legal fraternity in Tamil Nadu which took upon itself to fight for the State with a zeal while it was not the case with Karnataka.
Thimme Gowda said the way Karnataka team argues and puts forth the State view point before the Supreme Court during the hearing this week, will be crucial.
Mugur Nanjundaswamy, convenor of the Kannada Chaluvali Kendra Samithi, writers Bhagawan, Pradhan Gurudutt, Atahalli Devaraj representing the Karnataka Sugarcane Cultivators Association and other stakeholders were present.
