NEW DELHI — Fulfilling a critical requirement of the Supreme Court's 2018 "final" resolution on inter-state water sharing, the Chief Minister has successfully mailed the Prime Minister the 2026 edition of a letter demanding the immediate rejection of the pending Mekedatu dam project.

The correspondence, which firmly cites a violation of judicial orders, addresses the exact same Detailed Project Report (DPR) that prompted an identical letter to the Prime Minister in 2019. "The situation remains urgent, which is why we must quickly take the exact same decisive action we took seven years ago," an official said, noting that the neighboring state had generously provoked the letter by announcing a 'bhoomi pooja' for a dam that has existed exclusively as paperwork since 2018.

The latest exchange of letters follows a 2025 Supreme Court decision to dispose of previous lawsuits while directing the Central Water Commission to determine compliance—a ruling that immediately spawned a new review petition. Political observers noted the dispute requires careful bureaucratic management, as the state's current administration is in an alliance with the party governing Karnataka, necessitating a highly choreographed display of regional outrage that does not accidentally result in actual water management.

"Our leaders are committed to fighting for our farmers' rights indefinitely," a party spokesperson said, carefully sliding a copy of the 2026 letter into a filing cabinet next to the 2019 version to ensure the template remains easily accessible for the next election cycle.