Karnataka on Wednesday decided to defer the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till after meeting Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday, September 29, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said. Bharti has called for a meeting with Siddaramaiah and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in Delhi on Thursday morning, ANI reported. Siddaramaiah's statement follows a Cabinet meeting on the water-sharing dispute. He had met Bharti on September 22 to explain the state's difficulty in complying with the Supreme Court order.

However, Opposition party Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu accused Bharti of supporting Karnataka in the dispute and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to chair the meeting. DMK President M Karunanidhi said Bharti had recently made remarks "fully supporting" Karnataka's stance on the issue. "The meet should be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself so that an amicable solution arises from it," Karunanidhi said. He added that the state's farmers needed water till January 28 to irrigate their crops, but the present supply in the Mettur dam would only last till November 5.

Earlier in the day, Opposition parties in Karnataka said they were against the Supreme Court's Tuesday order to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, at an all-party meeting. Opposition leaders had asked the government not to release water from the river till Thursday. The meeting was attended by MPs, district-in-charges of regions in the Cauvery basin, and floor leaders of both the state's Houses.

Timeline

  • September 5 - The Supreme Court directs Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
  • September 9 - The top court reduces the quantity of water to 12,000 cusecs, but widespread protests erupt in Karnataka.
  • September 16 - A day-long bandh is held in Tamil Nadu in protest against the violence targeting Tamilians in Karnataka over the water-sharing dispute.
  • September 19 - The Cauvery Supervisory Committee directs Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day from September 21 to September 30.
  • September 20 - The court revises the figure to 6,000 cusecs, directing Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu every day from September 21 to September 27.
  • September 21 - The Karnataka Cabinet decides to not release waterfrom the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.
  • September 22 - Chief Minister Siddaramaiah meets Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti in Delhi to explain the state's difficulty in complying with the Supreme Court order.
  • September 23 - The Karnataka legislature passes a resolution that says they cannot release Cauvery water for anything but drinking water purposes in Bengaluru and other towns and villages that fall in the river basin.
  • September 26 - The Karnataka government files a petition in the Supreme Court, seeking a modification to its order from September 20.
  • September 27 - The Supreme Court orders the Karnataka government to release 6,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for three days, till the next hearing in the matter on September 29.
  • September 28 - The Karnataka government holds an all-party meeting to discuss the dispute.