Bengaluru, DHNS: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s immediate intervention in resolving the impasse over implementing the Supreme Court order on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

In a letter to Modi on Friday, he said, “I earnestly request you, not only as prime minister but as head of the entire federal system, to call a meeting of the chief ministers of states (forthwith on a few hours of notice) to resolve the impasse... Awaiting your favourable response urgently, by telephone, fax or e-mail.”

Siddaramaiah stated that as the constitutional chief executive of Karnataka, he had taken it upon himself to obey the order of the Supreme Court to release 15,000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu for 10 days, though the BJP tried to impress upon him (at an all-party meeting on September 6) to do the contrary.

The release of water, however, has created more unrest and disquiet in the state. It would result in deprivation of drinking water to residents of Bengaluru, and water to irrigate farmlands in the Cauvery basin, he added. If the unrest continues, Siddaramaiah said, it would not only have a serious impact on Karnataka’s economy, particularly the IT economy, but also impact the livelihood of the common man in large parts of the state.

The chief minister argued that Tamil Nadu not only had sufficient storage of water in the Mettur reservoir but also received adequate rainfall during the northeast monsoon to meet the requirement for cultivation of samba (rice) crops.