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Wednesday, Apr 02, 2008
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Hogenakkal project: Tamil Nadu demands Centre’s intervention

Special Correspondent

Kannada organisations call bandh for April 10 as political opposition intensifies

M. Karunanidhi

CHENNAI/BANGALORE: Even as the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution urging the Union Government to come forward to safeguard the rights of the people of the State, various Kannada organisations gave a call for a Karnataka bandh on April 10 to protest the Hogenakkal drinking water supply project.

The resolution, moved by Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and adopted unanimously, stated that the Centre should fulfil its responsibility of protecting the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

Deploring the incidents of violence in Karnataka, the resolution said that though Tamil Nadu had resolved to maintain peace and amity in relations with Karnataka, some “chauvinists” in that State had acted against the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu.

In Karnataka, political opposition to the project intensified. Traffic on the Mysore-Bangalore National Highway came to a grinding halt near Maddur in the morning with activists of the Mandya district unit of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (KRV) stopping a bus of the Tamil Nadu State Road Transport Corporation and deflating its tyres.

A meeting of writers, intellectuals, farmers’ leaders, Kannada cinema persons, Kannada organisations and Dalit organisations convened by the Vedike at Bangalore decided to launch a movement to stall the construction of the project.

The Vedike threatened to cut off rail and road transport between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and close down industries and trade establishments owned by persons belonging to Tamil Nadu.

It decided not to allow Tamil films to be screened across the State until the issue was sorted out.

Tamil films and television programmes would go off the air from Wednesday.

Karnataka Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao, in his letter to the Union Water Resource Secretary Umesh Narayan Panjiar, contended that the Hogenakkal project was “undoubtedly” a new scheme.

“Until the inter-State implications arising from the project are examined under the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956, the Government of Tamil Nadu is not within its right to take up the project.”

Mr. Rao, in his reply to Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary L.K. Tripathy, said the grant of ‘no objection’ by the Union Water Resources Ministry could not be considered as resolution of inter-State implications arising from the project under consideration.

The Tamil Nadu government had not made the Hogenakkal water supply project a part of its complaint or statement of case before the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT).

Claiming that the Tamil Nadu government could not take up the new project without disclosing the detailed project report and other relevant information to Karnataka, Mr. Rao said unlike the Hogenakkal project, the Bangalore water supply project, taken up for utilisation of 30,000 million cubic feet, was part of the State’s claim before the CWDT.

Concluding the discussion in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on a special calling attention motion by different parties including the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Congress, Mr. Karunanidhi said those who refused water for crops had now taken up the Hogenakkal issue to say that water would not be given for drinking purposes too.

Mr. Karunanidhi said the House was forced to adopt one more resolution even before it could realise the impact of the previous resolution.

He said the next course of action would be decided after consulting all the parties.

Initiating the discussion, O. Paneerselvam, deputy leader of the AIADMK on the floor, said his party would stand by the State government on the issue.

Leaders of other parties including G.K. Mani (Pattali Makkal Katchi), C. Gnanasekaran (Congress), Vijayakant (Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam), V. Sivapunniyam (Communist Party of India), C. Govindasamy (CPI-Marxist) and K. Selvam (Viduthalai Chiruthaigal) also supported the government’s stand. PWD Minister Durai Murugan thanked them.

The South Indian Film Artistes’ Association, at an emergency meeting, decided that members of the Tamil film industry would observe a fast on Friday.

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