- 1 week ago
The broadcast examines the opening of the Mettur Dam gates after an eighty-day delay amid severe rainfall deficits in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Panelists debate the TVK government's management of the Cauvery water crisis and the dwindling reservoir storage, which is estimated to last only 35 to 40 days. TVK National Spokesperson M. Sathiyakumar defended the state administration, asserting that the delayed release was not deliberate and stated, 'We will invoke the provisions, rule of law' to secure Tamil Nadu's rightful water allocation from Karnataka. Political analysts Dr Sumanth C Raman and Akshat Ram raised pressing concerns over agricultural distress, highlighting the lost Kuruvai sowing window and questioning the lack of a proactive, enforceable strategy should Karnataka refuse further water releases. The panel deliberated on legal petitions before the Supreme Court and future diplomatic dialogue between the two neighbouring states.
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NewsTranscript
00:00That was the moment when the dam gates were opened.
00:03And right now we're also seeing multiple images, videos that are being shared online on social media
00:09of Chief Minister Vijay meeting with elderly women in the village,
00:13of Chief Minister Vijay handing over his shades to, in fact, an elderly woman.
00:17All of that going viral. It's become a big talking point.
00:20But like I said, we want to put the focus on the issue of water,
00:24on the issue that farmers have to deal with.
00:26Joining me on this broadcast is Mr. Satya Kumar, TVK National Spokesperson.
00:30We've got Akshat Ram, political analyst, and Sumansi Raman, political analyst.
00:34Mr. Sumansi Raman, I'd like to begin with you.
00:36The reality is that while we've seen the May 2 Dam gates being opened finally today,
00:42it's after an 80-day delay.
00:43Yes, there are circumstances much beyond the government's control
00:47because there has been extremely deficit rainfall.
00:49But what do you make of the TVK government's handling of the situation so far, sir?
00:53And going forward, how much of a test this will be for Chief Minister Vijay?
00:59I don't see any handling of any situation.
01:02Because you see, there is no water this year.
01:04Water from Karnataka has not come to the extent that it should have come.
01:09And therefore, the opening of the dam, which normally happens in June,
01:12has been pushed off to September.
01:15And even now, the estimate is there is only about 35 to 40 days of water which can be given.
01:22What happens after that, unless there are more inflows from Karnataka, is open to question.
01:28So, there is a serious problem.
01:32You know, today's visit was purely a kind of a PR visit of sorts.
01:38Because I know that other Chief Ministers have also done the same thing.
01:42And we have seen photographs every year, the Chief Minister goes down to open the dam.
01:46Almost as if, you know, they are responsible for having got the water there.
01:51It's the nature and the God that has given the water or not given the water,
01:55as the case may be in this year.
01:57So, anyway, I don't see any great handling of the situation.
02:02The matter is being taken up with the Kaveri Water Management Board.
02:06They have given certain orders.
02:08Karnataka is releasing some water, though obviously it is far from the required quantity.
02:13So, hopefully, if there is some element of rainfall over the next 20-25 days,
02:19maybe the situation will ease.
02:20But I spoke to some water managers.
02:23They tell me that there is only water for around 40 days.
02:26Because there is about 10 TMC feet which needs to be kept at the base.
02:31You can't, you know, run the dam dry.
02:34And there is only about 53 odd TMC feet of storage.
02:38So, if you are going to consume at the rate of 1 TMC a day, you know,
02:43then you are left with effectively 35 to 40 days of water.
02:46After that, what happens is open to question.
02:48Farmers already have struggled.
02:50Mr. Satya Kumar, you know, we have seen a delay in opening the dam gates itself.
02:54And I will highlight what happened last year versus now.
02:57That usually, you would see these dam gates being opened, you know, June, July.
03:01Those are the images on our screens of last year, then Chief Minister Stalin opening the gates.
03:07And then now, in September.
03:09So, you see a huge delay there in the opening of these dam gates.
03:14You can only imagine how much farmers have been struggling.
03:17The question that Mr. Sumansi Raman has asked, and many others do, Mr. Satya Kumar,
03:21is what's the plan going forward?
03:23If Karnataka refuses to release the water, what do you do?
03:25What does Tamil Nadu do?
03:28See, first thing is that we should not consider this as a delay
03:31because there are reasons beyond comprehension.
03:34Agreed.
03:35As we found the government...
03:36It's not completely, you know, it's not man-made.
03:37I agree that there are natural causes here that you have to address.
03:40So, there is an inadequate water in the dam.
03:43So, accordingly, opening up is not a deliberate attempt to delay.
03:47Point number one.
03:48Point number two, if Karnataka government is not releasing the water,
03:52we will invoke the provisions, the rule of law.
03:54To see to that, we reach out to the courts and we get the right justice
03:59for the people of Tamil Nadu.
04:01So, in fact, Honorable Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Talabati Vijay,
04:04wanted to have a dialogue with the CM of Karnataka in this matter.
04:09But at that point of time, nature favoured us and some water was released to Tamil Nadu.
04:13But we are not leaving this matter.
04:15We will definitely take up, as per the due process,
04:18if the Karnataka government is not releasing the water.
04:21Of course, I understand, Akshita, there is a delay from Karnataka side as well.
04:25That is the reason there is a delay in opening up this Mehto Dam as well.
04:28Because we were afraid if we opened the Mehto Dam in the June month,
04:31and as we formed the government,
04:32later point of time, if there is no water,
04:34this will give an insecurity to the farmers.
04:36And, of course, there are issues beyond our control,
04:40which we are trying to rectify at this point of time.
04:42I also appreciate the point of Mr. Suman Sih Raman.
04:45We are not denying that fact.
04:46But one thing is very clear.
04:47It is not a deliberate attempt to delay.
04:49Point number one.
04:49Point number two, if further delay is going to happen,
04:52we are going to invoke the provisions of the law.
04:53We will ensure that the rule of law will be invoked
04:56to see to that the water, Tamil Nadu gets the right share of waters.
04:59But there has, Mr. Satya Kumar, so far already been a delay.
05:02And Karnataka continuously fights it legally,
05:05saying, you know, we are going to challenge every order that comes in from the tribunal.
05:08And so, there has been no implementation.
05:11See, Akshita, you know well,
05:12this matter has already been settled by the Supreme Court,
05:14where they have clearly said that the water should be released to the lower riparian states.
05:18And, in fact, with respect to Megadatu Dam as well,
05:23they cannot construct the dam without the consensus of the lower riparian states.
05:26We all know all these facts.
05:28So, knowing all these facts,
05:29Karnataka is saying they will go to the court.
05:31I don't know what reason, what factor makes them to say this.
05:35But at the end of the day,
05:36the Supreme Court judgment is favoring Tamil Nadu,
05:39Tamil Nadu being a lower riparian states.
05:41Akshat Ram is also on this broadcast.
05:43Akshat, what do you make of what the TVK says?
05:45Look, you have to agree that it's been a year
05:48where there's been extremely poor rainfall in Tamil Nadu and in Karnataka.
05:52And this equation with Karnataka,
05:55fighting it out of the water is not new.
05:56It's something that's gone on for decades.
06:00At the outset, Akshat, firstly, thank you to you and to India Today.
06:03This marks my debut on English Channel.
06:05And it feels very exciting,
06:07especially when I get to do it with almost my namesake.
06:10But I wish I was doing this on better circumstances.
06:14Let's put the facts straight out there.
06:16Four months as a chief minister since he took office,
06:19this is his first visit to Mehta.
06:2282 days late, June 12th to the September 1st.
06:25Nobody on this panel can spin that as good news for a farmer
06:28for whom the water he needed was in June.
06:31Today's opening is, at best,
06:34a good news that has arrived three months late.
06:37Let's be very clear.
06:38We are talking about June 12th being the opening date
06:40for the Kurovai sowing calendar.
06:43Today, it is September 1st, 82 days late.
06:46And we cannot now go to the farmers and say,
06:49oh, we have now opened the water.
06:51Now you can start your plantation season.
06:52That's not how farming works.
06:53And that's not how agriculture works.
06:55Kurovai planting season has already crossed.
06:57We are now looking at the Samba cultivation season.
06:59Let's also be very clear.
07:01We are constantly saying that this water
07:03is now going to last 45 days,
07:05as Mr. Sumanthram said already, right?
07:08Even in that scenario, what happens on day 46?
07:12And can this government say for sure
07:14that the water will last for 45 days?
07:17Or are we going to come back here in October
07:18to have the same conversation?
07:20See, 51.3 to 52.3 TMC is what is needed across August, right?
07:28Against a full capacity of 93.47 TMC,
07:31which is what is needed.
07:32Now, the farmers are saying that
07:34even at the 45-day release period,
07:36you will need across 15,000 to 20,000 cults a day,
07:39which according to this government,
07:41they are only going to be able to do 12,000 cults a day.
07:45In the future, at the current,
07:46they are releasing 3,000 cults a day.
07:48What is 15,000?
07:49What is 3,000, right?
07:51Let's also be very clear that this whole argument
07:55and this whole conversation that we are having
07:57with the Karnataka government,
07:59I completely stand with the TVK government
08:02and so does every other opposition party
08:03in the stance that the Karnataka government
08:05cannot dictate terms as to how the water will be released
08:08and when.
08:09There is a Supreme Court ruling on this.
08:11There are several judicial committee rulings on this.
08:13There is a CWMA's ruling on this.
08:15This has to be followed
08:17and the law has to be followed in this scenario.
08:20And that's the question.
08:21But Mr. Satyakumar,
08:23on the aspect that concerns have been raised,
08:2540 days from now,
08:27what next?
08:28Yes, a legal fight will continue
08:30and yes, you will also take this up,
08:32challenge Karnataka.
08:33What's the immediate plan?
08:34What's the immediate solution, sir?
08:37The immediate solution,
08:38see to that,
08:39we actually communicate to the Karnataka chief minister
08:42and try to get the due share of our water,
08:44which doesn't seem to happen at this juncture.
08:46But as our honourable chief minister of Tamil Nadu,
08:49Talbadi Vijay, said,
08:50we will definitely have a dialogue
08:51with our honourable chief minister of Karnataka.
08:54As we see,
08:55if we see that there's no improvement on it,
08:57definitely invoking the provisions
09:00and also the Supreme Court judgment
09:01is the only choice available to Tamil Nadu state.
09:04because we try our diplomatic models,
09:07diplomacy,
09:08but if it doesn't work,
09:09then our obvious next step would be
09:11to invoke the provisions of the law.
09:13That is the Supreme Court judgment.
09:14So, we'll have to file petitions to the Supreme Court
09:17and seek the help of the court
09:19and the court has to interfere in this matter
09:21and we all know
09:22that the water justice need to be provided for Tamil Nadu
09:25because that's the crux of the Supreme Court judgment.
09:27Akshat, quickly, yeah.
09:29Yes.
09:30Sir said that we will talk with the Karnataka government,
09:33we will go to the Supreme Court.
09:35What do the farmers do till then, right?
09:37Because we are constantly talking about
09:40in a normal year, Akshat,
09:41everyone gets enough water
09:42and the dispute stays manageable, right?
09:44But the real test is in a deficit year like this.
09:47What is the enforceable mechanism
09:48when there isn't enough water?
09:50Does Karnataka release proportionally in a distress year?
09:53How quickly can Tamil Nadu
09:54actually enforce these mechanisms?
09:56See, constantly the argument
09:58against the TVK government is this,
10:00that they are constantly being reactive,
10:02that they are not being proactive to these things.
10:04No, but they've also attempted to have dialogue,
10:07which we have not seen before,
10:09that, you know, you had an outreach
10:10to the Karnataka chief minister.
10:12Let's talk about dialogue.
10:13The Karnataka chief minister
10:14calls an all-party meeting
10:16on the Mekadatta issue months back.
10:17The chief minister of Tamil Nadu
10:19refuses to call one.
10:20What does he do instead?
10:21He instead decides to go on
10:22an all-NP party meeting for what?
10:24For delimitation.
10:25A bill that is not even in the public forum yet,
10:27we are discussing delimitation here.
10:29What is the real concern of this government?
10:32Does this government,
10:32water's security should not be an area
10:35where Tamil Nadu is constantly debating
10:37and is constantly fighting with its chief minister?
10:40The chief minister should have a proactive,
10:42the water resource minister,
10:43the agriculture minister,
10:44needs to have a proactive stance on this.
10:46Okay, I'll bring in Mr. Sumansi Raman
10:47before I give Mr. Satya Kumar a chance to respond.
10:50Mr. Sumansi Raman,
10:51you did say that you haven't seen
10:53any clear strategy from the TVK government
10:55on addressing this issue.
10:56But like I highlighted earlier,
10:58you've seen an attempt at least,
10:59that the chief minister has reached out
11:01to his Karnataka counterpart,
11:03which is great.
11:03Maybe dialogue is the way forward,
11:05which is maybe the solution.
11:07Look, he started with that attempt,
11:10which was a risky attempt,
11:12because had it backfired,
11:14everybody would have said that,
11:15you know,
11:16we should have gone the legal route
11:17instead of trying all these negotiations.
11:19But he started.
11:21Then at that point of time,
11:23there was a bit of a crisis,
11:25Karnataka,
11:25you know,
11:26some of the organizations
11:27threatened to agitate and so on.
11:29So DK has said,
11:30don't come.
11:31Now,
11:31that is now more than a month,
11:33a month and a half ago.
11:34So what happened now?
11:36I mean,
11:36are we going to restart that dialogue?
11:38See,
11:39the best time to restart the dialogue
11:41actually is when there is some water available.
11:44Not when there is absolutely no water
11:46on both sides,
11:47tempers are running high.
11:49So ideally,
11:50if the,
11:51if,
11:51you know,
11:52if Vijay reaches out to Mr. D.K. Shivkumar
11:56and tries to see if the talks can be initiated again,
11:59are we going to see that?
12:01Are we going to see going back to the,
12:03to the tribunal and saying that you have to enforce
12:06the next set of orders?
12:08And at what stage does Karnataka actually stop?
12:12Because from whatever we know,
12:13they have been releasing some water,
12:15though whether it is complying entirely with the CWMA order
12:20is something that we don't know yet.
12:22It isn't.
12:23So now what is the government going to do?
12:25Are we going to approach the Supreme Court
12:26and ask for fair share?
12:28So there is no strategy
12:30and at least,
12:32you know,
12:32nothing that has been explained in the public domain.
12:35So people are still waiting to see what Mr. Vijay is going to do.
12:39So today is just a ceremonial photo.
12:42Beyond that,
12:42there is no value to what happened today.
12:44Mr. Satya Kumar,
12:45final word,
12:46that's the constant criticism that comes in.
12:48That,
12:48you know,
12:49optics wise,
12:50you know,
12:50your viral reels,
12:51you have all of these social media moments.
12:53And as the opposition says,
12:55you know,
12:55it looks like a film shoot.
12:57Nothing beyond that.
12:59It's not like that,
13:00Akshita.
13:01In fact,
13:01the attention is on the leader.
13:03So everybody looks at what he is doing.
13:06And this has been,
13:07the moments of opening a dam was captured even during the DMK government.
13:11So it's not an exception.
13:13So considering it,
13:15the only issue that now,
13:17strategically,
13:18our honorable chief,
13:18minister of Tamil Nadu Talbadi Vijay is looking at,
13:20is to,
13:21how to get the due share from Karnataka.
13:23So we are not taking excuse to say that we are a new government.
13:26So we are placing strategies to see that we get the due share of water.
13:30And this delay will definitely cause some loss to the farmers,
13:34for which we are also trying to,
13:36trying our best to get the water from Karnataka.
13:38So it's not that we don't have strategy.
13:41We do have a strategy.
13:42We are placing our strategy where we are looking at models of legal approach,
13:48as well as the diplomatic route.
13:51What will work in the days to come?
13:52We have to see.
13:53And I see,
13:55I see a very rare trend in Karnataka wherein after Sidharamaya's government,
13:58I thought Mr. D.K. Shukumar will do a fair,
14:01will do a fair justice to Tamil Nadu,
14:03but he seems to be not releasing the water.
14:06And definitely our leader.
14:08I don't think it's fair to blame Karnataka as well.
14:10You know,
14:11honestly,
14:11they're struggling to,
14:13they don't have water.
14:14We are not blaming Karnataka.
14:16D.K. Shukumar will watch out for his state's interests as well,
14:20as Chief Minister Vijay will for Tamil Nadu.
14:23So I think at this point,
14:24unfortunately,
14:25the reality is that both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are struggling.
14:28And in the course of that,
14:30you're seeing essentially no water for both states.
14:33Yes,
14:33it's a legal fight.
14:34So legally,
14:35Karnataka does have to release that water to Tamil Nadu.
14:38Will it happen is the question.
14:40Thank you,
14:40gentlemen,
14:40for joining me on this broadcast.
14:41Mr. Sumansi Raman,
14:42Akshat Ram and Satya Kumar.
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