Talks between the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing of Cauvery waters have ended without an agreement. The Chief Ministers, Jagadish Shettar and J. Jayalalithaa, held talks here on the suggestion of Supreme Court.

Both the States stuck to their earlier stance: Karnataka refused to release water citing drinking water requirements of towns and cities in the Cauvey belt; Tamil Nadu insisted on water release to save standing Samba crop.

“Karnataka has refused to release water as we need to look at our requirement of drinking water needs before sharing,” Shettar told reporters after the meet.

“Tamil Nadu needs to look at long-term solution to solve the Cauvery water issue,” he added.

Jayalalithaa, who emerged out of the meet first, said, “We requested 32 TMC feet of water but Karnataka flatly refused to even give us another drop.”

“The next Supreme Court hearing is tomorrow. We will go before the Supreme Court and tell them the outcome of today’s meeting,” she added.

The two State Chief Ministers met for an hour at a hotel here.

Jayalalithaa said, “I am here on the direction of Supreme Court to hold talks with Karnataka. Tamil Nadu has taken a heavy hit this year due to lack of water. Kurvai crop is lost and now standing Samba crop needs water.

“Currently, we have 16.32 TMC ft of water at Mettur. Of this, 5 TMC ft is needed for drinking purpose and another 5 TMC ft is dead storage. All we are left is 6.32 TMC ft for irrigation,” she added.

Shettar, defending Karnataka’s stand, said, “It is not possible to release water to Tamil Nadu as only around 36 TMC ft of water is available in reservoir which can be utilised only for drinking water purpose.”

“The State is not in a position to meet Tamil Nadu's demand as a severe drought, a weak monsoon and deficit rainfall in the Cauvery catchments areas has led to drastic fall in water storage in the reservoir,” he added.

>anil.u@thehindu.co.in

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