The Supreme Court on Friday urged Karnataka to deliberate sharing water from the Cauvery River with Tamil Nadu, NDTV reported. It gave Karnataka till Monday to inform the court about the quantity of water that can be released to its neighbouring state.

The judges said, "When there is deficit in the release of water, some attempts have to be made by Karnataka so Tamil Nadu can survive as an entity." The bench advised the disputing states to "maintain harmony" in the matter.

Irked by Karnataka’s refusal to release Cauvery water, despite a court-appointed tribunal ordering the state to do so, farmers in Tamil Nadu have 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.