Chennai, July 25:
Tamil Nadu Agriculture Minister R. Vinoth on Friday asserted that the State will never permit Karnataka to construct the proposed Mekedatu dam, reaffirming the government’s firm stand on protecting Cauvery water rights. He said Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay would reiterate Tamil Nadu’s opposition during his meeting with his Karnataka counterpart on August 3.
Speaking to reporters in Kumbakonam, Vinoth said the TVK government would not compromise under any circumstances. “We will never allow Karnataka to build the Mekedatu dam. The Chief Minister will meet Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on August 3 to reiterate Tamil Nadu’s position and secure the State’s due share of Cauvery water, despite Karnataka citing poor rainfall and water scarcity,” he said.
The Minister emphasised that safeguarding the interests of farmers in the Cauvery delta remains a top priority for the State government.
Meanwhile, delta farmers urged the Chief Minister to take a firm stand during the upcoming talks. Swamimalai Sundara Vimalnathan, secretary of the Cauvery Farmers Protection Association, appealed to Vijay to strongly oppose the Mekedatu project and also raise the Nethravathi–Hemavathi river-linking proposal suggested by late Karnataka engineer Dr. Bhavani Sankar.
Farmers expressed concern that any upstream project by Karnataka could further strain water availability in Tamil Nadu, particularly during crucial irrigation seasons, and called for sustained pressure to ensure equitable sharing of Cauvery waters.