Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday requested his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde to release 5 tmcft of water from reservoirs in Maharashtra to Karnataka in the light of acute drinking water shortage in North Karnataka districts.
Thanking Maharashtra for heeding to the request of Karnataka by releasing 1 tmcft of water from Warna/Koyna reservoir to Krishna river earlier, Mr. Siddaramaiah in a letter requested Mr. Shinde for immediate release of 2 tmcft of water from Warna/Koyna reservoir to Krishna and 3 tmcft of water from Ujjani reservoir to Bhima river to meet the drinking water needs of both humans and livestock.
Earlier, Karnataka had sought release of 3 tmcft of water from Warna/Koyna reservoir to Krishna river and 3 tmcft of water from Ujjani reservoir to Bhima river.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said that Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts in North Karnataka were facing acute shortage of water due to severe summer since March 2023.
