Call TN, Karnataka CMs' meeting over Cauvery impasse: SC to Centre

Karnataka govt told Supreme Court that it can release additional water to Tamil Nadu only by Dec as they're facing shortage of drinking water

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the central government to convene a meeting of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu for finding some way to break the impasse over the release of Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu.

Asking the Centre to facilitate such a meeting, the bench of Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Uday Umesh Lalit also directed the Karnataka government to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu every day for the next three days.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have locked horns over sharing the Cauvery water. The Karnataka government on Monday told the Supreme Court that it can release additional water to Tamil Nadu only by December, and that "Karnataka's all major cities, including Bengaluru, are falling short of drinking water".

Karnataka also sought modification of the Supreme Court order that instructed it to give more water to Tamil Nadu.

A few days ago, the Karnataka assembly passed a resolution, contending that the river water would be used only for meeting drinking water needs of villages and towns in the Cauvery basin and Bengaluru.