Mandya : Speaking on the continuing row over Cauvery Water sharing, the Agriculture Minister of Karnataka,  N. Chaluvarayaswamy said that no more water can be released to Tamil Nadu till Supreme Court's verdict on September 21 as they (Karnataka) are already having problems with drinking water and there was already no water for the crops. 

"No more water can be released as there is no water in the dam...We have problems with drinking water at present and there was no water for crops earlier as well...Drinking water will also be affected in the coming days," said Chaluvarayaswamy.

"We will report the situation to the authorities and I will talk to the CM, Deputy CM, and Irrigation Minister today," added Chaluvarayaswamy.

He further expressed hope that the state would get a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court and said that water cannot be released till the verdict is given. 

"It seems that the Supreme Court verdict will be good but since it is postponed now, water cannot be given till then," said the agriculture minister.

He added that further decision will be taken after discussion with everyone. 

The state government has come in for fire from the opposition BJP. Former chief minister Basavraj Bommai said that the state had shown no ability in Cauvery Water Management. 

"The Mekedatu project has been in demand for centuries. During our period, Congress people campaigned and campaigned, but when I was told that this
case was in the court, I did not believe it. Now Siddaramaiah is saying that the case is in court. The truth came out of his mouth. Now there is a high demand for irrigation in both the states. Demand for water has increased for both the states" said Bommai.

Meanwhile, Pro Kannada organisations have continued their protest demanding to stop water from being released to Tamil Nadu ahead of the Supreme Court verdict on September 21. The protestors held a rolling protest at Sanjay Circle in Mandya. 

The protestors were demanding to stop the Cauvery water release to Tamil Nadu after the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) passed an interim order asking Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu daily for the next 15 days.