Siddaramaiah requests Shinde to release water from Maharashtra dams to meet Karnataka's drinking water needs

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday wrote to his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde requesting him to release water from Warna/Koyna reservoir to Krishna river and from Ujjani reservoir to Bhima river to address the acute drinking water shortage in Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadagiri and Raichur districts due to severe summer.

He sought 2 TMC of water from Warna/Koyna and 3 TMC from Ujjani reservoir to Bhima river.

Siddaramaiah thanked Maharashtra for responding positively to an earlier request from Karnataka for 3 TMC ft of water from Warna/Koyna reservoir to Krishna river and 3 TMC ft of water from Ujjani reservoir to Bhima river to meet the local drinking water needs of both locals and livestock. In response to this request, Maharashtra released 1 TMC ft of water to Krishna river in May.


North Karnataka districts are still reeling under severe summer, as a result people and livestock were facing a shortage of water. The monsoon is yet to arrive in the North Karnataka region, the CM said in his letter.