A three member team of ministers from Karnataka led by water resources minister Basavaraj Bommai will ask Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to release water from the reservoirs in that state to meet the drinking water needs of parts of Karnataka which are gripped by a severe drought.
Mr Bommai, who cut short his visit to the drought hit areas in the region, left for Maharashra on Tuesday along with Agriculture Minister Umesh Katti and Medium and Large Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani. They were scheduled to meet the Maharashtra Chief Minister later in the day. Mr Bommai informed media persons here before leaving for Maharashtra via Belgaum that he would ask the Maharashtra CM to release 4 tmc of water from the Koyna reservoir into the Krishna river and another 2 tmc from Ujini reservoir into the Bhima river
Karnataka Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda had written a letter to his Maharashtra counterpart on April 7 requesting for release of water in view of the drought situation. The state government had also asked Central ministers from Karnataka to persuade the Maharashtra Chief Minister to release water. Union labour minister Mallikarjun Kharge had written a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister in this regard.
In the wake of requests from Karnataka, the Maharashtra Chief Minister took stock of the situation a couple of days ago. "I’m confident that the Maharashtra government will consider our request for water favourably when we meet him", Mr Bommai added. On the water situation in Karnataka reservoirs, Mr Bommai said the water stocked in Narayanpur Dam and Tungabhadra Reservoir would be used mainly for meeting drinking needs.