States should go by Cauvery distress formula: Siddaramaiah
He was reacting to the demand by his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa for release of water
MYSURU: With Karnataka facing the worst drought in 40 years, the riparian states should go by the distress formula described in the final award by the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday.
Reacting to the demand by his Tamil Nadu counterpart J Jayalalithaa for release of water, he told the media: “reservoirs in the state are not filled even to half their capacity. When it rained, we have released enough water. But now, we must provide drinking water for our people. It is not that we do not want to release water. If it rains, we will release water. Now it has become inevitable to adopt the distress formula in sharing water.”
When asked about BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa’s allegation that the state has not witnessed any progress after he took over as Chief Minister, Mr Siddaramaiah said “The state was lagging behind by ten years when it comes to development, and the BJP is responsible for that.”