Chennai: AIADMK chief J Jayalalithaa today
charged the DMK government in Tamil Nadu with "betraying"
farmers by not asking Karnataka to implement Cauvery Water
Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) verdict for release of water.
"As per CWDT`s final verdict, Karnataka has to release
192 TMC of water annually to Tamil Nadu. In July, they have to
release 34 TMC to benefit farmers harvesting kuruvai crop. But
till now they have not released it," Jayalalithaa said in a
statement.
She said various reports indicated that farmers in the
state had not been able to harvest kuruvai crop due to
unavailability of water in the last two years.
"Usually farmers harvest kuruvai in 3 lakh hectares.
However, this year they could harvest only in 53,000 hectares.
In the delta area, the farmers had harvested only in 14,000
hectares," the AIADMK general secretary claimed.
If the state government continue to remain silent,
Karnataka would claim that Tamil Nadu has not requested water
for long, she said, adding it would also lead to a situation
where the state would lose its rights over the issue.
She further claimed that power cut was also the other
reason for the farmers to harvest less kuruvai crop.
PTI
