Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on Friday said he would take measures to protect the interest of state farmers in the backdrop of Tamil Nadu moving the Supreme Court over utilising Cauvery waters.

"I will get details from the law department and take measures in accordance with law to protect the state's interest," he told reporters here.

Gowda, who earlier called on the governor H R Bhardwaj to greet him on the occasion of Ugadi festival, was responding to a question on Tamil Nadu filing an application before the Supreme Court seeking to restrain the state from resorting to summer irrigation.

The two neighbouring states are locked in decades-long dispute on sharing waters of the river and the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, set up by the Centre, had in 2007 given its final award, allocating 419 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu and 270 tmcft to Karnataka annually.

However, Karnataka has challenged the tribunal's award in the Supreme Court, alleging it gave a raw deal to the state overlooking its requirements and rights.