Karnataka-TN water dispute: A Ramadoss seeks action over Markandeya River dam
Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) leader Anbumani Ramadoss advised the Centre to take action in opposition to the Karnataka government for constructing a dam across the Markandeya River. A stir among the Tamil Nadu polity is brewing on this count as many leaders have expressed the identical call for, a Tamil language newspaper stated on Sunday.
The former Union minister stated in a announcement that it is surprising to learn that Karnataka has constructed the dam across the Markandeya, the tributary of the Thenpennai which is the source of irrigation for 5 districts of Tamil Nadu, in line with the Dina Thanthi. Karnataka has arbitrarily built the structure even when the dispute over the Thenpennai river is pending with the tribunal, he mentioned.
Among its tributaries, the Markandeya River is the major water source of Thenpennai which originates in Karnataka but empties in the Bay of Bengal traversing through Tamil Nadu.
Ramadoss stated that though it originates in Karnataka, the gap the river traverses in that state is only 30 kilometres. The 165 ft tall dam built in the tributary will keep up to 2 TMC water, he quoted experts. So, it is doubtful if the water from the tributary will ever reach the Thenpennai and thousands of hectares of agriculture in districts particularly Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore will be affected, he stated.
Anbumani talked about that the riparian rights of the Thenpennai River are under the settlement entered between the then Madras Presidency and the State of Mysore in 1892. Karnataka have to get the approval of Tamil Nadu, the tail end-user of the river, before executing any important project over it. The arbitrary act of Karnataka building the river without Tamil Nadu’s approval is contempt of the tribunal, Anbumani contended. He advised the Tamil Nadu government to take up the problem with the Centre and call for motion against Karnataka.
In another article posted in the Dina Thanthi on Sunday, the Communist Party of India’s state secretary Mutharasan also reiterated that Tamil Nadu should take up a legal conflict against the Karnataka authorities for building the dam across the Markandeya river. Meanwhile, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s general secretary Vaiko has slammed the preceding AIADMK government’s lackadaisical approach toward the issue which paved way for the development of the dam.
