Tags:
Journalism of Courage
The longstanding Mekedatu dam issue has emerged as the BJP and the AIADMK’s chosen line of attack against the DMK government in Tamil Nadu ahead of the second grand meeting of the Opposition scheduled in Bengaluru between July 17 and 18.
The Congress and the DMK are allies against the BJP in the south but the two parties have differing positions on the construction of a reservoir on the Cauvery river in Mekedatu, which borders the two states. The objective of the dam, with a proposed capacity of 48 TMC ft (thousand million cubic feet) and an estimated cost of Rs 6,000 crore, is to supply drinking water to Bengaluru and replenish the regional groundwater table.
On Monday, Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai claimed that Stalin would compromise on Tamil Nadu’s rights if he attended the Opposition meeting in Bengaluru in the wake of the Congress-led Karnataka government’s stand on building the dam. He added that the BJP would stage a “Go back Stalin” agitation if the CM chose to attend the meet.
Criticising Stalin for not speaking up against Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar after “he made Mekedatu a poll issue” and “insisted on going ahead with the project”, Annamalai said that “the CM lacked the heart to condemn the Congress or Shivakumar” but was “keen on attending the Opposition meeting thinking he will gain acceptance (at the national level)”.
The AIADMK, BJP’s National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Tamil Manila Congress (TMC) leader and NDA ally G K Vasan, and rebel AIADMK leaders O Panneerselvam and T T V Dhinakaran have also criticised the DMK government’s handling of the issue. Panneerselvam alleged that neighbouring states frequently act against Tamil Nadu’s interests when the DMK is in power.
Facing Opposition criticism, Tamil Nadu Public Works Department minister Durai Murugan issued a statement on Tuesday saying Tamil Nadu would never allow Karnataka to construct the Mekedatu dam. The minister met Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Wednesday to discuss the issue and claimed the project violates the Supreme Court’s 2018 verdict on the Cauvery water dispute between the two states. The Tamil Nadu minister requested Shekhawat to take steps to get Karnataka to release the Cauvery water. He also criticised the Centre for the meeting between the Union minister and Shivakumar on June 30 — where the latter pressed Karnataka’s demand to go ahead with the project — saying it was unfortunate.
Asked why the TN’s DMK regime did not directly talk with Karnataka as it is ruled by ally Congress, Durai Murugan hinted that it was not possible. He quoted a Tamil proverb to emphasise that though there might be a mother-child bond, when it came to matters like food and water, the issue gets separated. Hence, it had to be dealt with accordingly, he added.
Durai Murugan told reporters that only 2.83 TMC ft (thousand million cubic feet) of the requisite 9.19 TMC ft of water was given to Tamil Nadu and said the matter would also be taken up with Shekhawat.
The DMK has found some support from the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC), with state president K S Alagiri hitting out at the BJP for “spinning a drama out of the situation” and saying that it was the Narendra Modi-led Centre that initially gave permission for the “draft”. In 2018, the Centre approved the project’s pre-feasibility report.
The Mekedatu project, which has been a contentious issue for decades, again sprang up barely 10 days after the Congress government assumed power in Karnataka in May, with Shivakumar expressing his resolve to build a dam and a reservoir there. Durai Murugan issued a sharp response at the time, pointing out that the project was not part of the awards of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) or the Supreme Court ruling.
Tamil Nadu witnessed widespread protests against the project in 2015, with a statewide bandh that was supported by various stakeholders. The state Assembly passed unanimous resolutions against the project in December 2018 and January 2022.
— With PTI inputs
