Karnataka tonight began releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu from the Krishna Raja Sagar Reservoir as per a Supreme Court directive.          Irrigation Department sources said four crush gates of the reservoir have been opened for releasing water.         

The current water level at the reservoir stood at 9.08 ft as against its full level of 124 ft, they said. The apex court had Tuesday in an interim order directed Karnataka to release 10,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu, and asked the Cauvery Monitoring Committee to hold its meeting to decide the amount of water required by the states.         

The court had also said the interim order would continue till the CMC files its report. It also asked the Committee to meet on December 7 or December 8 to find out water requirement for crops in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for the month of December. The report would be submitted to the authority concerned.