The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Cauvery authority meeting today

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Tuesday, Aug 24, 2010
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Cauvery authority meeting today

T.S. Ranganna

Bangalore: Union Water Resources Secretary U.N. Panjiyar will chair a meeting of the Cauvery Monitoring Authority (CMA) in New Delhi on Tuesday. The meeting will discuss the distress situation in sharing the Cauvery waters by the riparian States caused due to shortfall in rain in the catchment areas, especially in Kerala.

According to sources in the State Government, Chief Secretary S.V. Ranganath will leave for New Delhi on Tuesday along with senior officials of the Department of Water Resources. He will explain to the CMA the low water-level in the State's reservoirs in the Cauvery basin and how difficult it would be to release water to Tamil Nadu.

The sources said that as on date, Karnataka has to release 44 tmcft of water to Tamil Nadu, but it could spare only 30 tmcft. Gradually, the water-level in the Kabini reservoir was rising, thanks to rain in Kerala, and would help in releasing more water to the neighbouring State.

Hoping that the situation would improve in the coming days, they added that the Harangi reservoir was not getting sufficient water.

Cloud-seeding

Meanwhile, the Department of Water Resources has written to the Chief Secretary seeking permission to take up ground-based cloud-seeding on a pilot basis in the catchment areas of the river within the next 10 days.

Five centres in the K.R. Sagar catchment area will be selected for cloud-seeding, and each attempt will cost Rs. 20 lakh.

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