The age-old Cauvery water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has not calmed down a bit as clashes between poachers and forest officials have started adding fuel to the fire. Tension seems to be increasing between the two states after this incident. On Sunday (August 16), Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay Rupani condemned the incident, lashing out at the DK Shivakumar government and saying such incidents would not be tolerated. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister of Karnataka has vowed to conduct a judicial inquiry into the incident.
CM Joseph Vijay expressed anger over the incident
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu C. Joseph Vijay told Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. criticized Shivakumar and requested him to form a high-level committee to conduct an impartial probe. He also shared a post on social media platform X regarding the incident.
A very sad and heartbreaking incident
In the post, CM Vijay said, “It is a very sad and heartbreaking incident that Tamil Anthony Sami, John Rose Peter and Kumar of villages in Hennur taluk of Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka were shot dead by Karnataka Forest Department officials in the early hours of Saturday (August 15, 2026) in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary area.” He added, “I strongly condemn this incident. The explanation given by the Karnataka Forest Department regarding this incident is completely unacceptable. This barbaric incident should be investigated impartially.”
A high level inquiry committee should be formed – CM Vijay
CM Vijay said, “A high-level inquiry committee should be constituted to investigate the incident impartially, and those responsible should be given appropriate punishment. Further, the Karnataka government should provide all necessary assistance to the families of the victims.” He said, ‘I strongly request the Karnataka government to take appropriate and strong measures to prevent such incidents from happening again in the future.’
What did CM DK Shivakumar say about this incident?
According to news agency IANS, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, “I came to know about the incident this morning. Forest department officials came and directly informed me of the incident. Their guns have been seized, and two bags full of wild animal meat have been found. One person managed to escape. More details will be released. Currently, officials are gathering all the facts.”
He said, “The officials have provided information about the persons involved in the forest encounter and their safety. They fired at our forest officials present there. That is why I have already said that there should be a judicial inquiry at the magistrate level, and appropriate action should be taken. Further, compensation will definitely be given after receiving a report on the amount and type of compensation they can get.”
What is the Cauvery water dispute?
The Cauvery water dispute is a nearly 150-year-old, deep-rooted dispute over the sharing of the waters of the Cauvery River in southern India, mainly between two southern states: Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The matter is currently pending in the Supreme Court of the country. The dispute is mainly fueled by low monsoon rainfall, especially for irrigation and drinking water needs. In 2018, the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgment, declared the Cauvery river a national asset and directed the state of Karnataka to release a certain amount of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.