Chennai, July 1 (IANS) PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday launched a statewide public awareness march from Biligundlu in Dharmapuri district to the historic town of Poompuhar, intensifying his party’s campaign against Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam project across the Cauvery River.

Flagging off the march, Anbumani described the project as a grave threat to Tamil Nadu’s water security, agriculture and ecology, and urged the State government to strengthen its legal efforts to prevent the dam from becoming a reality.

Addressing reporters, he said the primary objective of the campaign was to mobilise public opinion across the Cauvery delta and other river-dependent regions against the proposed reservoir.

He alleged that Karnataka’s plan would adversely affect the flow of Cauvery waters into Tamil Nadu, jeopardising irrigation, drinking water supply and the livelihoods of millions of people.

Calling the Cauvery the lifeline of Tamil Nadu, Anbumani said more than five crore people in the State depend directly or indirectly on the river for agriculture, industry and domestic consumption.

He warned that if the Mekedatu dam is constructed, the already limited flow of water reaching Tamil Nadu could be further reduced, aggravating water scarcity in several districts.

Rejecting Karnataka’s argument that the project is intended primarily to meet Bengaluru’s drinking water requirements, Anbumani said the city’s needs could be met with a much smaller quantity of water.

He expressed concern that the proposed 70 TMC reservoir could eventually be used for irrigation, enabling Karnataka to retain more Cauvery water upstream and affecting downstream releases to Tamil Nadu.

The PMK leader also raised environmental concerns, pointing out that the proposed reservoir area includes nearly 12,500 acres of dense forest that serves as habitat for elephants, tigers and several other wildlife species.

He noted that environmental activists in Karnataka, too, had voiced opposition to the project and urged authorities to reconsider it on ecological grounds.

Accusing successive Karnataka governments of failing to honour Cauvery water-sharing commitments, Anbumani called upon the Tamil Nadu government to continue pursuing every available legal remedy to stop the project.

He also reiterated his opposition to the State government’s proposal for a new Cauvery tribunal, maintaining that the existing tribunal framework remains adequate.

Appealing for widespread public participation, Anbumani urged the youth of Tamil Nadu to unite in defence of the Cauvery, drawing parallels with the mass mobilisation witnessed during the Jallikattu movement.

He also called on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to oppose the Mekedatu project and persuade the Congress-led Karnataka government to withdraw the proposal.

The awareness march will pass through major Cauvery irrigation regions before concluding at Poompuhar, with PMK leaders, farmers’ representatives and party workers taking part in the campaign.

—IANS

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