Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa has reportedly written to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin requesting him not to oppose the Mekedatu balancing reservoir-cum-drinking water project.  He offered a bilateral meeting between the two states to clear all apprehensions.

Yediyurappa wrote, ''It would be in the interest of all concerned and to have a better relationship between the state of Karnataka and state of Tamil Nadu, if the Tamil Nadu government in the right spirit would not oppose the implementation of the project.'' ''In order to address issues, if any, it is suggested that a bilateral meeting could also be held in the presence of concerned officials to clear all apprehensions,'' Yediyurappa wrote in his missive to Stalin seeking his cooperation and strengthened relations between the two states.

Mekedatu project, which has been pending for many years, Yediyurappa said the project would immensely benefit both the states and in no way affect the interests of the farming communities of Tamil Nadu. The project also aimed to additionally utilise 4.75 TMC of water for meeting drinking and domestic water needs of Karnataka including the whole of Bengaluru, ''as awarded by the Supreme Court in its judgment dated February 16, 2018''.

The Chief Minister reminded Stalin that the water project has been contemplated with an objective to regulate the flow of water to Tamil Nadu as stipulated in the final orders of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and thereafter modified by the Supreme Court to generate 400 MegaWatt of power.

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