Fight for water - Cauvery river

The issue of Cauvery water distribution, which has made two states to come to a standstill, has its root long back. There were two major decisions taken in 1892 and subsequently in 1924  between Madras state and Mysore state to decide on the distribution. However, the problems continued and hence in 2007, Cauvery tribunal board was set up to resolve the dispute. But based on historic decisions of 1892 and 1924, the board gave a decision which seemed  to favor Tamil Nadu. The catchment area in Tamil Nadu is more as compared to Karnataka. Accordingly, the distribution decisions were made. Tamil Nadu was supposed to get approx. 420 TMC of water, Karnataka to get close to 270 TMC, Kerala to get 30 TMC and Puducherry with 7 TMC. Out of 420 TMC, Karnataka has to release 190 TMC to TN. However, there are many areas of contentions between the two states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

As per Karnataka

• The southern part of Karnataka is heavily dependent on Cauvery water. The regions of Bengaluru, Mandya and Mysore etc.
• Due to the population growth in last three decades in areas near Bengaluru and Mysore, the water consumption level has increased.
• As per Karnataka, Tamil Nadu is not utilizing the water properly. Most of the water is flowing to the Bay of Bengal.

As per Tamil Nadu

• Cauvery water has its major usage in farming and as drinking water. The current standing crop, Samba will be destroyed if water is not provided on time.
• Karnataka is diverting the water for illegal usages.
• Karnataka has other major rivers to depend on but almost entire Tamil Nadu is dependent on Cauvery water. So it cannot afford to lose any amount of it.
• Also, as per the international rules, parties have to abide by the distribution decision taken in history which in this case are the decisions of 1892 and 1924.

Karnataka has some major rivers namely - Krishna, Godavari , Mahadeyi, Cauvery and few other distributaries. Out of this, Cauvery serves only 17% of the southern part of the state but this region has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. The population has risen beyond expectation and due to this construction of buildings, offices has increased considerably. The demand for drinking water and other uses is being served from Karnataka's share of Cauvery water and due to this, the farmers are getting less amount of water for their crops. Also due to less rainfall in recent years, the agricultural sector has been deeply impacted.
In the case of Tamil Nadu, Cauvery water is the major source. The entire state is dependent on Cauvery and few small tributaries. TN falls in the rain shadow area so it also receives less rain as compared to other parts of the country. Currently, the standing Samba crop is under crisis, if water is not supplied the crops will fail. As in Bengaluru, Chennai also has seen huge growth in recent times and the city is dependent on Cauvery water for its drinking water needs.

Both the states has genuine issues but the solution can only be reached through a judicial process and expert committees, set up to judge the requirement of each state on a regular basis. Violence can never be a solution for anything. In last few days, Karnataka alone lost a  business of around Rs.25000. Public properties were destroyed, major services were stopped forcefully. The brand image of Bengaluru has been damaged and only time and proper action by the government can tell whether it is a permanent damage or can be alleviated. Both the states needs to work together and come out with some alternate plans such as preserving the numerous lakes which are badly polluted right now, harvesting rainwater and Karnataka can also look to utilize the other major rivers.