Centre not trying to resolve Cauvery dispute, says Kharge

Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday accused the Centre of not taking the matter of the Cauvery issue seriously, even as a meeting chaired by Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti with representatives of the governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu failed to arrive at an acceptable accomodation.

"They might have come up with some solution over the Cauvery issue, if the government would have tried to resolve this issue seriously. We are facing a lot of problems because of this, but the Centre is not making any effort to understand the situation of Karnataka," Kharge told ANI.

He said that till the time the government will not pressurise the states, the dispute of Cauvery water will not be resolved.

"We had asked the Centre to send an experts committee to review the situation before giving any order. If our intent would not have been clear, we would have never asked them to send an expert committee. It's because we don't have water that's why we asking them to send an expert committee," Kharge said.

Yesterday, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, after meeting the government representatives of both states, said that if the tension between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka prevailed, she would sit on hunger strike on the border that separates the two states.

Unable to settle the ongoing dispute between the two states as instructed by the Supreme Court, Bharti said, "If tension rises between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, I am going to sit on a hunger strike on the border of both states."

Bharti requested both states to sit down together and approach the court after finding some solution to their problems.

The representatives of both states met Uma Bharti today a day after the Karnataka government failed to comply with the Supreme Court's order to release more water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu.

The apex court, has expressed its displeasure over Karnataka's inaction, saying that it violates the spirit of federalism or cooperation between states.

The apex court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka government to release 6000 cusecs of water till Friday.

Karnataka government had said it was not in a position to release water to Tamil Nadu citing 'acute shortage' of water.

The Tamil Nadu government, on the other hand, has said that Karnataka is acting as a judge in its own cause and refusing to comply with apex court orders that are sub-judice.

Over the past month, both states are fighting a legal battle in various courts over the sharing and distribution of Cauvery waters.