The Hindu : `Water release was ordered by Sonia'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 09, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

`Water release was ordered by Sonia'

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIJAPUR JAN. 8. The Union Minister of State for Textiles, Basanagouda R. Patil Yatnal, on Wednesday saw the hand of the AICC President, Sonia Gandhi, in the release Krishna waters to Maharashtra.

Addressing presspersons here, he criticised the Government for "sacrificing" the State's interests to protect party interests.

Condemning the release of water, Mr. Yatnal, who represents Bijapur in the Lok Sabha, said that no sensible Government could do that.

Referring to Cauvery issue, he said that the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, despite the Supreme Court order declared that he could shed blood but not release a drop of water to Tamil Nadu.

But he released water as soon as he was directed to do so by Ms. Gandhi. This time too he had acted on the directions of the Congress President, Mr. Yatnal charged.

Mr. Yatnal said he was not against helping neighbours, but the pros and cons of the issue should be discussed thoroughly before reaching a decision.

The State Government, while filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court over a PIL filed by Bheema farmers, stated that the genesis of problem could be traced to the excess water storage in Ujjini Dam.

Its latest decision could jeopardise the State's interest in long run, he said.

Stating that Maharashtra had been indifferent to Karnataka, he said that when Mr. Krishna led a delegation, which included him, to Mumbai in January 2002 to request for water from the Ujjini Dam, the response of that State was "rude."

While the Irrigation Minister, Ajit Pawar, said that there was no water to spare, the Deputy Chief Minister, Chhagan Bhujbal, bluntly said that water could be transported through tankers and trains if the drinking water problem was so acute in Karnataka.

It's another matter that Maharashtra later released two tmcft of water from Ujjini Dam after much persuasion. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh opposed Karnataka's plan to raise the height of the Alamatti Dam to 524.25 metres as originally planned.

During the Bheema agitation the Maharashtra police booked criminal cases against several State farmers and also against the then Minister for Small-scale Industries, S.R. Kashappanavar, he said.

Karnataka should get 15 tmcft. of water into the Bheema, but the flow had reduced to less than two tmcft. in recent years. Despite all this, the Krishna Government was going "out of the way" in helping an upper riparian State, he charged.

Instead of "blindly" releasing water to Maharashtra, Mr. Yatnal said that the State Government should invite Maharashtra for talks, and take an undertaking from that State that it would ensure at least 15 tmcft. of water, which was rightful share of Karnataka as per Bachawat Award, into the Bheema on this side of the border, and withdraw its objection to raising the height of Alamatti Dam.

Referring to Andhra Pradesh's demand for water from Alamatti Dam, the minister said that some quantity of water could be given to it provided Andhra Pradesh withdrew its objection on the heights of the dam.

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`Water release was ordered by Sonia'