Mekedatu: We will protect TN’s rights: Duraimurugan

State Water Resource Minister Duraimurugan on Thursday said the neighbouring Karnataka government cannot lay a single brick to build Mekedatu dam across Cauvery without the consent of Tamil Nadu government. “Our government is committed to protect the rights of the state. It will fight tooth and nail to stop it (Mekedatu project). Kerala and Puducherry are also against the project, ” the minister said while responding to Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami, who flagged the Mekedatu issue during the Zero Hour. Palaniswami criticised the DMK government for not passing a resolution in the assembly against the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) for taking up the Mekedatu dam project issue for discussion during its meeting on February 1, and staged a walk out from the House along with party MLAs, while Duraimurugan dubbed it as a “drama”. Before staging a walk out from the House, Palaniswamy charged that the DMK regime was “intentionally lethargic” towards the 50 year-old inter-state water dispute over sharing of Cauvery Water, which is the line for 20 districts for drinking and irrigation purposes. @@@@