M Karunanidhi asks all states to cooperate for CMB formation

Chennai: Welcoming the Supreme Court judgment to form the Cauvery Management Board, DMK leader M. Karunanidhi on Saturday appealed to all parties involved in the dispute to co-operate for its immediate formation.

The states should adhere to the regulations under the River Water Board Act passed ruing the regime of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

The amount of water stipulated by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal should be allocated to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.

The board should monitor the water inflow, release and storage in all the dams built on Cauvery and its tributaries on a daily basis. During failure of monsoon, water should be shared as per the intensity of drought.

All the dams should be operated as per the guidelines of CMB, he stressed.
In Africa, more than 60 inter-state rivers are flowing and the river Danube in Europe flows through 17 countries. Nile passes through ten countries and all those countries are amicably sharing river water.

Even in India, water in rivers Narmada, Krishna and Bhakranangal is shared among three states, he said and asserted that there must be no problem in sharing of Cauvery water among Tamils, Kannadiagas and Keralites.

Tamil Nadu only needs sufficient water for cultivation and it should be released as per the tribunal verdict and under the supervision of CMB, he said.  The Union government and state governments should come forward to co-operate to amicably solve the problem.