Jaya stages day-long fast over Cauvery water row

Chennai: Former Tamil Nadu chief minister and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) president J. Jayalalitha yesterday observed a day-long fast demanding implementation of the ruling of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

"She is holding a hunger strike on the Cauvery issue. It is a 16-year-old problem. The recent Cauvery tribunal final award went against the interests of Tamil Nadu. The fast is against the inaction of the union and state governments," a party worker said.

Jayalalitha, who accuses the ruling party in the state of not approaching the Supreme Court, observed the protest in front of Valluvar Kottam, a memorial for Tamil saint-poet Tiruvalluvar in the heart of Chennai.

The first notable fast in Jayalalitha's political career was in 1992 when, as chief minister, she demanded that the Centre appoint a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the interim award of the tribunal. That strike was called off on the fourth day after an assurance from the then union water resources minister V.C. Shukla that necessary steps would be taken.

The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal announced its final verdict on February 5, in accordance with which Tamil Nadu gets 419 thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of Cauvery water and Karnataka 270 tmc feet. The actual release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to be 192 tmc feet annually. Kerala gets 30 tmc feet and Pondicherry 7 tmc feet.

Jayalalithaa is the second TN chief minister to stage a fast, the other one being her political mentor and AIADMK founder, the late M.G. Ramachandran who, in 1981, went on a day's fast demanding increased allocation of rice from the Centre.