The Supreme Court on Monday directed the government of Karnataka to release 15,000 cusec of water from the Cauvery River to Tamil Nadu for 10 days, ANI reported. The apex court had urged Karnataka to consider sharing water from the river with its neighbouring state and given it time till Monday to inform it about the quantity of water that can be released.

Troubled by Karnataka's refusal to release water from the Cauvery, despite a court-appointed tribunal ordering the state to do so, farmers in Tamil Nadu had been staging protests against the state. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal had ruled that Karnataka was obligated to deliver 192 thousand million cubic feet of water to Tamil Nadu every year.

On August 25, the Karnataka government had said it was facing an acute water crisis and could no longer release water to Tamil Nadu for irrigation. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had met a delegation of farmers from the neighbouring state and told them his state was facing a shortage of water in the Cauvery river basin.