As the bandh was largely peaceful and total in Karnataka on Friday opposing the Supreme Court directive on release of water to Tamil Nadu, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to convene a meeting of Chief Minsters of Cauvery basin States to resolve the impasse “as unrest in Karnataka will create a serious impact on the economy.”
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“I invite attention to a precedent of December 1995 where under similar circumstances of deficit flows, the Supreme Court by an order dated December 28, 1995, requested the Prime Minister to resolve the issue of implementation of the Court order, which was then duly done to the satisfaction of all parties,” the Chief Minister said in a letter, which was the third in less than a month, to Mr. Modi.
Mr Siddaramaiah said if the unrest continued, it would not only have a serious impact on the economy of the State, particularly IT economy which brought enormous revenue and foreign exchange to the country, but would also adversely impact the livelihood of the common man in large parts of the State.
The present storage in the Mettur reservoir and the north-east rainfall received in Tamil Nadu would be more than sufficient to meet the requirement of water for the samba rice crop in that State, he said.
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At the all-party meeting held on September 6, 2016, to elicit the views of political parties the Karnataka BJP leaders felt that the Supreme Court order need not be implemented. “However, as constitutional Chief Executive of the State I have taken it upon myself to obey the orders of the Supreme Court and water is being released, which has created more unrest and disquiet in the State,” the Chief Minister said.