Palaniswami demands TN govt to announce stance on Mekedatu issue

Tamil Nadu's AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami has urged the state government to take a stance on the Mekedatu dam issue, opposing Karnataka's proposed construction on the Cauvery river.

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to announce its stance on the Mekedatu issue, an inter-stated dispute involving neighbouring Karnataka.

Karnataka has proposed to construct a balancing reservoir on river Cauvery at Mekedatu in that state to meet its drinking water and power generation requirements. Tamil Nadu has been opposing it saying its interests would be affected if the project took shape.

''The Karnataka Congress government is acting in a way that undermines Tamil Nadu's rights over the Cauvery, and the government in Tamil Nadu is standing by idly, and this remains an unchanging scene regardless of changes in administration'', Palaniswami said in a statement here.

He said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar had remarked that Tamil Nadu had no right to oppose the construction of the Mekedatu dam. ''His (Shivakumar) current statement has caused massive outrage among Tamil Nadu's farmers and the general public''.

Cauvery river water is the lifeline of the state for not only farmers in the Cauvery Delta districts, but also was the drinking water source for people in 20 districts , the former CM said,.

''If a dam is built across the Cauvery river at Mekedatu, the Delta districts will turn into a desert,'' he claimed.

Stating that AIADMK will never allow Tamil Nadu's rights regarding the Cauvery to be surrendered, he asked, ''where does the Karnataka Congress government get the authority to talk about all the way up to the ground-breaking ceremony for Mekedatu.''.

''I strongly urge this government to immediately initiate steps against the Congress government in Karnataka in this matter and to announce Tamil Nadu's clear stance'', he demanded.