CM Vijay has written to Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar seeking direct talks on Cauvery water releases and the Mekedatu project, with Karnataka proposing an August 3 meeting in Bengaluru.
CM Vijay has written to Karnataka Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar seeking a bilateral meeting over the shortfall in Cauvery water releases to Tamil Nadu this season, and to press the state's opposition to Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu balancing reservoir. Karnataka has cited a monsoon shortfall as the reason for reduced water inflow to its dams, which in turn has limited the water it can release downstream to Tamil Nadu. The impact is already visible on the ground: the Mettur Dam, which is typically opened on June 12 each year for irrigation, has not yet been opened this season, raising concern among farmers in the Cauvery delta.
Vijay wrote to Shivakumar roughly a week ago requesting an appointment to discuss the water-sharing dispute directly, and Shivakumar has since agreed, confirming talks in Bengaluru on August 3, though he has declined to make the contents of Vijay's letter public. Reports indicate the agenda extends beyond Cauvery water and Mekedatu to include the proposed Bengaluru–Hosur metro rail link, an inter-state connectivity project with its own set of unresolved questions. The meeting will mark one of the rare instances in decades that the Chief Ministers of the two states have held direct talks on the Cauvery dispute — successive Tamil Nadu governments under the DMK and AIADMK had consistently avoided direct negotiations with Karnataka on the issue, relying instead on tribunal awards and the courts.
The push for direct talks follows a Tamil Nadu Assembly resolution passed on June 18 demanding that Karnataka abandon the Mekedatu project altogether, urging the Central Water Commission not to approve Karnataka's detailed project report for the dam, and calling for a new arbitration panel to be constituted. On July 20, CM Vijay held a consultation meeting with Water Resources Minister N. Anand and other officials specifically on the Mekedatu issue, ahead of this week's outreach to Shivakumar.
Speaking to reporters in Kumbakonam, Agriculture Minister R. Vinoth said the meeting, if confirmed, would take place in the first week of August — ahead of the Tamil Nadu Budget Session, which begins August 5.
Cauvery Dispute Mekedatu Karnataka CM Vijay July 24, 2026