Cauvery Water Issue Will Be Resolved By Mutual Understanding: Deve Gowda

The Cauvery water dispute will be resolved by mutual understanding between the two states, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda said in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli on Thursday.

Stating that the rulers of Tamil Nadu, irrespective of the party they belong to, are aware of the "truth", he said over 1.4 crore people including Tamils in Bengaluru city were suffering due to the drinking water crisis.

"This is not a fact which has to be hidden. The Prime Minister and even the rulers of Tamil Nadu, whichever party they belong to, know very well. This is a fact which has to be ultimately decided by mutual understanding," Mr Gowda told reporters after offering prayers at the renowned Sri Ranganathaswamy temple here.

"A time will come when we will all be in a position to realise and the problem (of Cauvery water row) is going to be sorted out," he said, exuding confidence, and claimed that the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had not allocated water for the drinking purpose of the people in Bengaluru and hence the people were suffering.

On his visit, the JD(S) national president said he came to the Temple City after four years. "My health was a little bad... even then I am active and going to the Rajya Sabha. I am working to serve the people not just of the state but also the country as a whole," he said.

He refused to be drawn into any controversy when asked to comment on the participation of BJP leaders in the late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's birth centenary commemorative coin release function in Chennai.

"Leave me alone. I am not the person to be involved in political controversy at the age of 92," the former prime minister said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)