Tussle over Cauvery water, reality of Twenty first century

Cauvery Water dispute has been as old as British India but solution and peace is yet to born. Let us try to understand the dispute and why is it making headlines now?

What is the dispute about?

Cauvery/ Kaveri river flows through southern Indian state of Karnataka into Tamil Nadu and finally the union territory of  Puducherry before mixing into the Bay of Bengal. Kaveri is considered as  holy by Hindus and is also called the "Ganga of South". Millions of farmers depend on the river to water their farm lands, land on which their living depends.

Kaveri originates from the Brahmagiri hills of western Ghats in the Kodaku District of Karnataka and flows in southeastern direction entering Tamil Nadu ending the journey into Bay of Bengal. The river forms a large number of distributaries in Tamil Nadu forming large basin known as the " Garden of South India".

Since the river flows through two states, both the states claim their rights to the river water, but none is satisfied with the current distribution.

Cause of protest

This year the state of Karnataka has received less than the required amount of rainfall, resulting in drought like situation in several parts of the state. Last week, the state government declared 195 taluks as drought hit. Among these 195 talukas, 161 taluks are labelled as severely hit by drought and 34 taluks as moderately hit.

The state has faced deficit in rainfall with 56% in June. The situation got better in August with 29% excess rainfall, but got worse in August with a massive 73% less rainfall then usual. This has hit the water banks of the state with Karnataka being pushed in a grave situation of water deficit.

This leads to Kaveri receiving less water as well. The area from which Kaveri springs has received 30% less rainfall and the other catchment area has received 60% less rainfall.

Therefore, the state is not in a position to share the water of Kaveri river with Tamil Nadu.  The CM and Deputy CM says that the state will run out of water if it is shared with Tamil Nadu.

What does court says?

Supreme court in its verdict of 2018 has directed Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. The government of Karnataka has gone with the directions of Supreme court. On September 18, Cauvery Water Management Authority asked the state government to continue releasing 5000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for 15 days.

Who is protesting?

Pro Kannada organisations, farmer unions and the opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) are together protesting against the release of water by Karnataka. Karnataka Jala Samrakshana Samiti which includes various farmers associations along with BJP and JD(S) called Bengaluru Bandh on 24 September. Shops and Restaurants remained closed while buses were still running, but with few passengers on board. Google and Walmart also asked their employees to work from home.

Farmers in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu also held protest by holding dead rats in their mouth. They demand the release of water from Karnataka to the state of Tamil Nadu.

On September 28, Thursday, Karnataka Rakshana Vedike members also held protests in Bengaluru, and other groups of farmers held protests in Mysore and Mandya districts.

Kannada Okkuta, a umbrella group for pro-Kannada Group has called for a state wide close down, Bandh on September 29, Friday.

Where does politics stand?

Bhartiya Janta Party has alleged that the government of Karnataka which is led by congress has succumbed to the pressure put by the DMK led government of Tamil Nadu. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar made a statement on Tuesday that the government led by Congress knew that they would not be able to survive in Tamil Nadu without the support of DMK hence the former has agreed to their demands, but BJP will not let this happen.

What does the Karnataka Government say?

The government of Karnataka is aware of the grave situation and has decided to go against the directions of Cauvery Water Regulation Committee’s (CWRC) to release 3000 Cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu. The CWRC has directed the state to release 3000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu on daily basis for the next 18 Days starting from Thursday.  The government on Wednesday said that they will present their case in front of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) and the Supreme Court.

Chief Minister of Karnataka Siddaramaiah has said that the state is not in the position to release any water to Tamil Nadu as it does not have sufficient water in its own reservoirs. The state will challenge the directions of the regulation committee in front of Supreme court.

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