Bengaluru, Oct 2 (SocialNews.XYZ) The Karnataka government on Friday urged the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) to reconsider its direction to release 4,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu, citing severe drought conditions and depleted reservoir levels.
Water Resources Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy said Karnataka had submitted an official request to the CWMA on Friday seeking a review of the decision taken at the authority’s 58th meeting held on September 24, 2026.
At the meeting, the CWMA directed Karnataka to release 4,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu at Biligundlu for 15 days.
Cheluvarayaswamy said the southwest monsoon had completely withdrawn from Karnataka and inflows into the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS), Hemavathi, Harangi and Kabini reservoirs had declined sharply.
“The total water available for use in these four reservoirs is currently only 49 TMC. Karnataka has to preserve this water very carefully to meet the state’s drinking water requirements, protect the environment and compensate for evaporation losses until June 2027,” the Minister said.
He said around 47 taluks in the Cauvery basin had already been declared drought-hit and that the entire basin was facing severe drought conditions.
Despite the shortage of water, Karnataka had strictly complied with all directions issued by the CWMA during the current water year, he added.
“From June 1 to September 30, 44.21 TMC of water was recorded at Biligundlu,” Cheluvarayaswamy said.
The Minister also pointed out that the northeast monsoon, which is generally favourable for Tamil Nadu, was expected to be normal or above normal, increasing the likelihood of higher inflows into the neighbouring state.
“Considering all these facts, Karnataka is in a difficult situation where it is not possible to release a substantial quantity of water from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs,” he said.
Cheluvarayaswamy said the state had therefore requested the CWMA to reconsider its earlier decision and reduce the mandated release at Biligundlu from 4,000 cusecs to 2,000 cusecs per day.
He said the reduction was necessary in view of the severe drought situation in the Cauvery basin and the limited water available in Karnataka’s reservoirs.
“The state has requested the authority to take Karnataka’s difficult situation into consideration and reduce the water release to 2,000 cusecs per day,” the Minister said.
Source: IANS
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