1. Cauvery water release: Karnataka to challenge CWRC direction in Supreme Court
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on September 27, 2023, said the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee’s (CWRC) direction to Karnataka to release 3,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu from September 28 to October 15 will be challenged before the Supreme Court.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said he had discussed the CWRC’s direction issued on September 26 with legal experts. Based on their opinion, Karnataka will be challenging the CWRC’s direction in the Supreme Court. Explaining that a total of 195 taluks in the State were reeling under drought due to failure of rains this year, the CM added that Karnataka does not have water to release to Tamil Nadu.
2. Gross storage at KRS reservoir second lowest since 2011
The gross storage at the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir across the river Cauvery was 20.54 thousand million cubic ft (tmc ft) on September 27, 2023, against the gross capacity of 49.45 tmc ft. This is the second lowest gross storage in the dam since 2011. The previous lowest was in 2016, when the gross storage in the reservoir on the same day had dipped to 14.84 tmc ft owing to monsoon failure.
Meanwhile, owing to the continuous release of water from the KRS in compliance with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA)‘s directions, the water level in the reservoir was down to 97 feet against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 124.80 feet. The water level on the same day last year was 123.92 ft and the gross storage was 48.22 tmc ft.
3. Eschew extravagant wedding celebrations by obtaining loans: Siddaramaiah
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has appealed to the public to eschew ostentatious wedding celebrations by obtaining loans. Participating in a simple mass marriage ceremony at MM Hills Temple in Chamarajanagar near Mysuru, Mr. Siddaramaiah said the practice of celebrating wedding ceremonies in a grand manner by availing agriculture loans was unhealthy.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said the poor and middle class will have to shoulder a huge financial burden and will have to keep working for the rest of their lives to clear the loans. Simple and mass marriages should be encouraged in the society, he said.
