Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday defended his government’s handling of the Cauvery water dispute and said the state had exhausted all legal and political options while calling for restraint amid protests.His remarks come after the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) had upheld the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) direction to release 3,500 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.Shivakumar recalled that an all-party meeting is scheduled on Jattvibeday to decide the next course of action.He rejected the Opposition’s allegation that Karnataka officials failed to effectively represent the state’s case before the CWMA and said the government had immediately challenged the order while mobilising support across party lines, including from union ministers and MPs from the state.”Even if the authority feels we have sufficient inflows, it remains my duty, and the duty of my government, to protect Karnataka’s interests,” he told reporters here.The CM said Karnataka’s Chief Engineer of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd, who is a CWRC member, along with advisers, the Principal Secretary, Additional Chief Secretary and the Advocate General, participated in the proceedings and placed the state’s case on record.He said the adviser, who had served the previous BJP government under Basavaraj Bommai, also took part in the hearing.Stating that Karnataka sought a reduction in the quantum of water and more time, Shivakumar said Tamil Nadu argued that the state had adequate inflows, following which the CWMA upheld the direction to release water.He said reservoir levels and inflow data were transparent and available to the Centre, Tamil Nadu and the media, with Harangi at 95 per cent storage, Kabini 83 per cent, Hemavathi 67 per cent and KRS 36 per cent.Karnataka’s inflow was around 25,000 cusecs, of which it had been directed to release 3,500 cusecs, he added.Shivakumar said the government had immediately appealed against the order and, even before filing the appeal, convened a meeting of Karnataka MPs in Delhi attended by 36 parliamentarians, including three union ministers, besides Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and six state ministers.”When it comes to Karnataka’s water issues and the interests of our land, there should be no politics. We must all work together,” the chief minister said.He added that copies of the appeal were shared with Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, V Somanna and Shobha Karandlaje, who extended support.Shivakumar said Tamil Nadu had sought around 99.4 TMC under the distress-sharing formula, but the authority granted about half that quantity.An all-party meeting consisiting of former chief ministers, MPs, union ministers and legislators, has been convened for Jattvibeday to deliberate on the legal and political response, he added.Appealing for calm, Shivakumar said protests were a democratic right but urged organisations against bandhs and agitation.”I appeal to them with folded hands that such actions are unnecessary. We are already standing with you. A bandh will not provide any solution to this issue,” he said.The chief minister said Karnataka had released only about 6 TMC of Cauvery water till the end of July, the lowest release for the month in the last 100 years, and clarified that no dam gates had been opened, with only natural downstream flows reaching Tamil Nadu.Referring to protests by BJP leaders, including B S Yediyurappa, he said their union ministers and MPs had already represented Karnataka’s case before the Centre and reiterated that he would take all stakeholders into confidence before deciding the next course of action.”I do not intend to take any decision unilaterally. I will first take everyone into confidence. I will listen respectfully to every suggestion that is in the interest of Karnataka,” he said.Shivakumar said Congress governments from the time of former Chief Ministers S Bangarappa, S M Krishna and Siddaramaiah had consistently protected Karnataka’s interests and asserted that the present government had ensured safeguards for drinking water and tank-filling despite distress conditions.The CM also welcomed Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil’s initiative to address the Tungabhadra reservoir’s siltation problem through a committee and said Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana had broadly agreed to proposals for interlinking the Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers as national projects with 90 per cent central funding.”I believe it is my duty to congratulate Patil for taking this initiative,” he said, adding that the proposed measures would give a new direction to the Tungabhadra project.