Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar during the biennial elections to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council, in Bengaluru. (PTI)

NEW DELHI: Karnataka chief minister and Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Thursday expressed willingness to discuss Karnataka’s proposed Mekedatu dam project over the Cauvery with Tamil Nadu.The river remains at the centre of a long-standing dispute between the two states.Shivakumar was responding to Tamil Nadu governor RV Arelkar’s address to the state assembly calling for halting Karnataka’s attempt to build the Mekedatu dam. The Congress is part of the C Joseph Vijay-led government in Tamil Nadu.“Of course, I am ready to sit and talk to them any time. I have no objection. Whether it is Tamil Nadu or Karnataka, we are all Indians. We all depend on the same river and the same water. Cauvery water is needed for agriculture, drinking, animals, birds, industries and everyone,” Shivakumar told reporters in Bengaluru.The Congress leader, who recently succeeded party veteran Siddaramaiah as Karnataka chief minister, claimed that the project would benefit Tamil Nadu more than Karnataka.“We are not seeking any financial assistance or anything of that sort. Only the power sector will benefit. We can generate 400 MW of power. That is the major benefit for Karnataka. Apart from drinking water, it is a project that helps Tamil Nadu first and then Karnataka,” he added.Shivakumar described Mekedatu as a “balancing reservoir” and asserted that “not even a bucket of water” would be used for irrigation, except for Bengaluru’s drinking water needs.He also maintained that the project would not affect Tamil Nadu’s share of Cauvery water.“We are committed to releasing 177 TMC of water, as ordered by the Supreme Court. We have to protect Tamil Nadu’s farmers,” the Karnataka CM added.Shivakumar further noted that Tamil Nadu’s politics has revolved around the Cauvery issue for the past 40 to 50 years.“See, for the entire Tamil Nadu political establishment, this (Cauvery water sharing dispute) has been a political agenda for the last 40–50 years. I do not want to interfere in their politics,” he remarked.Earlier, Vijay wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to reject Karnataka’s Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the Mekedatu balancing reservoir across the Cauvery.The project, aimed at providing drinking water to Bengaluru, involves constructing a dam on the Cauvery near its confluence with the Arkavathi River in Ramanagara district at Kanakapura, the home town of Shivakumar. It also includes a power station designed to generate 400 MW of hydroelectricity.