Tamil Nadu, Karnataka Chief Ministers should discuss Cauvery water issue: BJP MP Siroya

BJP MP Siroya's letter comes in the backdrop of a meeting called by the Cauvery Water Monitoring Authority (CWMA) in New Delhi on Monday to discuss the way forward in water sharing in this distress year.

"Tamil Nadu to realise that Karnataka's water needs include the water needs of lakhs of Tamil speakers who work and live in Karnataka," Siroya said in a letter to Stalin.

"We live in a migrant society. Inter-state migration when people leave their home states for employment reasons is a trend that has picked up in the last couple of decades. Therefore, when we speak of water rights, we have to be more considerate keeping these migratory trends and realities in mind," the letter stated.

"The best solution for this distress situation is for both states like brothers to understand each other's needs and crisis and share whatever limited water is available equitably. This can happen only if the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka meet and discuss the situation," it added.

He further added that more can be achieved by this meeting than by seeking the help of the central government of the courts.

"We should at least break the old cycle of seeing the sharing of Cauvery River water as a regional conflict and a major dispute. The conflicting approach has been prevalent for decades. Instead, it is best to view it as a humanitarian crisis to be addressed maturely by two state governments. There should be no scope for politics and rhetoric in this matter," it added.

The governments of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a protracted tussle over the sharing of Cauvery waters. The river is seen as a major source of sustenance for the people in either state.

The Centre formed the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) on June 2, 1990, to adjudicate disputes between Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, and Puducherry with respect to their individual water-sharing capacities. (ANI)