Cauvery row: No water left in Karnataka reservoirs, says CM Siddaramaiah

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has been expressing his inability to release water to Tamil Nadu owing to poor storage.

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has been expressing his inability to release water to Tamil Nadu owing to poor storage, on Tuesday said there's no water left in the state's reservoirs. 

CM Siddaramaiah's reaction came hours after Supreme Court directed the state government to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till further orders. 

"There is no water at our reservoirs, I have not yet seen the order copy. I will speak to the advocates after going through the order copy," he told reporters here.

The apex court today retained its direction to Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till further orders and asked the two governments to ensure peace and harmony, saying citizens should not become law unto themselves.

"We intend to first adjudicate the issue of maintainability of appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. At this juncture, the interim order dated October 4 directing Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of water per day to Tamil Nadu will continue till further orders," the bench comprising of Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar said.

Made Gowda, President of Mandya Zilla Raitha Hitharakshana Samiti (MZRHS), which is spearheading the Cauvery agitation in Mandya, said, "we should maintain peace until tomorrow's hearing."

"The court might have asked us to release 2,000 cusecs of water to test Karnataka government's patience....If they again ask us to release water tomorrow, we can reject it. There is no dharma in leaving water to them for crops, when we don't have it even for drinking," he added.