Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha M.P. Subramanian Swamy has predicted that Karnataka won’t accede to Tamil Nadu’s demands for release of (its share of) Cauvery river water to meet the irrigation needs of the farmers of Delta Districts in the State.

As per existing orders, Karnataka is supposed to release 192 TMC Cauvery water each year to meet Tamil Nadu farmers’ irrigation needs and for other purposes.  However, Karnataka has released only 111 TMC water for 2017 and has ‘washed its hands’ off the episode stating that it didn’t have enough water stored in its water-bodies to release the remaining 81 TMC water to Tamil Nadu.

Paucity of water for irrigation purposes has endangered crops in thousands of hectares in Delta Districts in the State. Tamil Nadu chief-minister Edapadi K. Palaniswami had written a letter to his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah seeking an appointment with him to discuss this matter on priority. Telephonic messages have also been sent but Karnataka hadn’t yet responded positively on the issue.

Amid rumours that Tamil Nadu might move the Supreme Court on the issue, Swamy told newsmen yesterday in Tirunelveli that Tamil Nadu would never get Cauvery water from Karnataka.  On another note, he said that the BJP would coast to victory during next year’s Lok Sabha polls. “We would build the Sethu Bridge linking Lanka soon after retaining power,” he said.

To a question on Chennai’s drinking-water needs, Swamy said that if the chief-minister (EPS) and the deputy chief-minister (OPS) made a formal request to him, he would arrange for setting up a facility in the State to convert sea-water into drinking water. “I can get the technological know-how for such a venture within 3 months’ time from Italy,” Swamy concluded.