Bangalore:
The Karnataka government has filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking a stay on the top court's order asking for the release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu. The petition wants the court to modify its earlier order directing release of water to its neighbouring state.
The petition says that order of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to release the waters was "impractical". The government also said that the state was having a "distress water year". Tamil Nadu too has said that crops have been severely affected due to water shortage.
The Cauvery River Authority was set up to look into the constant conflict, which is more than a century old, between the two states over water sharing. The Supreme Court, after the Cauvery River Authority's recommendation, directed Karnataka to release 9000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
The top courts order sparked off protests in Karnataka by farmers unions, which are still on. The Karnataka petition has quoted the protests, saying that they could go out of control. "The reaction of the people cannot be ignored as it has all the potential to go out of hands (sic), despite best efforts to keep it under control," the petition says.
The farmers, who have gathered in the Mandya district of Karnataka around the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam from where Cauvery waters will be released, turned violent yesterday. Stones were thrown, effigies burnt and a few arrests were made by the police.
The petition says that the busiest highway between the two states has been blocked, schools and colleges in the area shut and the agitation is being kept under control only with adequate security.
In 2003-04, under similar circumstances, Karnataka released around 38 TMC of water till January which comes around 3800 cusecs per day. At that time too, the Karnataka government had declared it a "water distress year". So it argues that the same logic should be use now.
The petition says that order of the Cauvery River Authority (CRA) to release the waters was "impractical". The government also said that the state was having a "distress water year". Tamil Nadu too has said that crops have been severely affected due to water shortage.
The Cauvery River Authority was set up to look into the constant conflict, which is more than a century old, between the two states over water sharing. The Supreme Court, after the Cauvery River Authority's recommendation, directed Karnataka to release 9000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu.
The top courts order sparked off protests in Karnataka by farmers unions, which are still on. The Karnataka petition has quoted the protests, saying that they could go out of control. "The reaction of the people cannot be ignored as it has all the potential to go out of hands (sic), despite best efforts to keep it under control," the petition says.
The farmers, who have gathered in the Mandya district of Karnataka around the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam from where Cauvery waters will be released, turned violent yesterday. Stones were thrown, effigies burnt and a few arrests were made by the police.
The petition says that the busiest highway between the two states has been blocked, schools and colleges in the area shut and the agitation is being kept under control only with adequate security.
In 2003-04, under similar circumstances, Karnataka released around 38 TMC of water till January which comes around 3800 cusecs per day. At that time too, the Karnataka government had declared it a "water distress year". So it argues that the same logic should be use now.
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