The Tamil Nadu govt should not get caught up in the problem of what the Karnataka govt has said ... Ramadoss warns Stalin ...!

Times of AthibAn Sunday, July 04, 2021 0

Ramadhass has said that the Tamil Nadu government should not fall into the trap of the Karnataka government's talk of spreading against the interests of Tamil Nadu.

In a statement issued by Pmk founder Ramdhass; -

In a letter to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, Karnataka Chief Minister Eduyurappa has called on the Tamil Nadu government not to oppose Karnataka's plan to build a dam across the Cauvery River in the Megathattu area and for the two states to hold talks in this regard. The Government of Tamil Nadu should not fall into the trap of the Karnataka government's rhetoric against the interests of Tamil Nadu.

There is no justification for the Karnataka Chief Minister's request that the Tamil Nadu government support the Megathattu dam project. Eduyurappa's claim that the Meghattu Dam and Hydroelectric Project should be allowed to operate in the Bhavani River Irrigation Area in Tamil Nadu to justify the construction of a dam in the Megathattu area is an attempt to deceive Tamil Nadu. It would be a mistake to compare the Kunda and Sillahalla hydropower projects with the Meghattu dam and hydropower project. Anyone who knows the past history of Karnataka and the full extent of this problem will not believe Karnataka Chief Minister Eduyurappa's claim that the Megathattu Dam is being built to generate water and carry 4.75 TMC of drinking water to the city of Bangalore.

In the draft project report submitted by the Government of Karnataka to the Central Government in the year 2019, the Megathattu project will be implemented at a cost of Rs. 9,000 crore; It is mentioned that it will have a capacity of 70 TMC. Even innocents would not believe it if this fact was concealed and dammed for the Meghattu drinking water project. The fact that Tamil Nadu farmers will not be affected if the Megathattu Dam is built is tantamount to covering the whole pumpkin in words. The capacity of the Krishnaraja Sagar, Kabibi, Hemavathi and Harangi dams now being built across the Cauvery in Karnataka is 115 TMC. Already Karnataka connects the water bodies there and stores up to 40 TMC of unaccounted water.

If the Megathattu dam can store 70 TMC of water, it can store 225 TMC of water at a time. Right now, Karnataka only sends surplus water to Tamil Nadu. If the new dam is built, not even a drop of Cauvery water will come to Tamil Nadu. This is the undeniable fact. Karnataka, which is determined to build the Megathattu Dam somehow, usually invites Tamil Nadu for talks at regular intervals. It was reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu O. Panneer Selvam, who met him on April 25, 2015, to hold talks with the Government of Karnataka on the Megathattu Dam at the request of the Government of Karnataka.

Then in August 2018, at the request of the then Karnataka Irrigation Minister DK Sivakumar of the Congress party, the then Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that he would arrange talks between the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka governments on the Megathattu Dam. The BJP immediately responded to such talks. Expressed strong opposition. The then Tamil Nadu government did not talk to Karnataka about this. Eduyurappa has now thrown the same net that was thrown in the past. If Tamil Nadu negotiates with the Karnataka government on the Megha Dadu Dam, we will be affected. We have suffered a lot in the 1970s when the Tamil Nadu government negotiated with the Karnataka government over the Cauvery water sharing without taking any legal action. Karnataka built 4 dams across the Cauvery in talks with the Tamil Nadu government.

The lessons we have learned in the past and the degree of injury will tell us what the honesty and virtue of Karnataka is in the Cauvery issue. Remembering them, the Tamil Nadu government should reject the call made by Karnataka Chief Minister Eduyurappa to hold talks on the Megathattu dam issue. On the contrary, Ramdhass insisted that the case pending in the Supreme Court should be handled better to protect the rights of Tamil Nadu in Cauvery.