Amid a mega war over Cauvery water, Union Minister Uma Bharti has called for a meeting tomorrow
Highlights
- Karnataka and Tamil Nadu fighting over water from River Cauvery
- Riots in Bengaluru after Supreme Court said Karnataka must share more
- Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti to hold mediation session tomorrow
Karnataka's political leaders met this morning with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress to discuss how to handle the new Supreme Court order which calls for water to be released urgently to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Karnataka was reprimanded by judges yesterday for defying the order, which was given last week.
Here are the 10 latest developments in this big story:
Amid a mega war over water, union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti has called for a meeting tomorrow with Mr Siddaramaiah and a representative of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who is in hospital and cannot attend the session.
Jayalalithaa yesterday dictated a speech to her party officials from her hospital bed that she wants shared at tomorrow's meeting in Delhi.
The conferral was ordered by the Supreme Court, which has been mediating Tamil Nadu's request for more water from the River Cauvery and Karnataka's resistance.
Karnataka was told yesterday to stop dragging its feet and urgently release water for the next three days.
Its inaction so far violates the spirit of federalism or cooperation between states, said judges.
The Karnataka government has repeatedly told the top court that it is on the verge of running out of drinking water for its major cities including the capital of Bengaluru, which is studded with offices of top IT companies and is considered India's Silicon Valley.
Since the beginning of this month, the Supreme Court has in a series of verdicts told Karnataka it must give Tamil Nadu more water to help its farmers.
The Cauvery River originates in Karnataka but flows into Tamil Nadu. How much water each state should get has been a recurring dispute for decades. The Supreme Court has been forced through the years to play arbiter.
This month, Bengaluru saw huge riots after the Karnataka government shared some water as ordered with Tamil Nadu. Two people were killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an appeal for calm.
Karnataka has said that the anger among its people and the large protests threaten to hurt its economy and in particular, the IT sector that it hosts.
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