Bengaluru/Chennai: Amid another failed monsoon, the Karnataka government is caught between the devil and the deep sea over releasing Cauvery water to irrigation canals and to Tamil Nadu.
Lakhs of farmers who sowed paddy and sugarcane are desperately pleading the government for water but the Karnataka government has asked local irrigation authorities not to release water saying that water should be preserved for drinking till the next Monsoon.
The Karnataka government has stated that merely 55 thousand million cubic feet of water is left which it needs to supply to cities like Bengaluru. The state capital gets 70% of its drinking water from Cauvery reservoir and the city administration fears that there will be no water by next March-April.
While Karnataka has refused to release Cauvery water due to extreme scarcity, farmers in Tamil Nadu have called for a bandh.
Swaroop, a 31-year-old farmer in Mandya district sowed 13 acres of paddy and sugarcane but is now facing a debt of Rs two lakh sixty thousand. “Government is only willing to pay us Rs 4000 for 13 acres. Who will pay the remaining amount? We asked for water from the KRS dam and they say Tamil Nadu wants it. No one listens to our plea. Tomorrow if I hang myself, police will say I committed suicide for any other reason but not because of my loan," he said.
Sharing of Cauvery river water has always been a flashpoint between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The row has escalated with the Karnataka government not letting any water into Tamil Nadu as the state itself is facing severe water shortage.
According to official data, all reservoirs in Cauvery basin have just 50% of the water.
Reservoirs levels in Cauvery basin
KRS: Height (full : 124 feet. At present 92 feet)
Storage: (full: 49 tmc. At present 17 tmc)
Kabini: Height (full : 2275 feet. At present 2284 feet)
Storage: (full : 19 tmcft. At present 14 tmcft)
Hemavathy: Height (full 2922 feet. At present 2899 feet)
Storage: (full: 37tmc. At present 19 tmcft)
Harangi: Height (full: 2859 feet. At present 2856 feet )
Storage: (full: 8.5 tmc. At present 7.5 tmc )
Speaking over the water crisis, Karnataka Minister for Water Resources MB Patil said, "only two dams are full in the state. It has been a bad Monsoon year. We have asked farmers to take up crops which consume less water and not to grow water intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane."
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Tamil Nadu government's plea for an urgent judicial direction to Karnataka government to release 50 millon cubic tonnes of the Cauvery water for the state.
Both the ruling AIADMK and main opposition DMK are demanding that the Supreme Court must intervene. According to rules whenever there is a shortage of water, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu will have to go for a distress sharing formula decided by the Centre.
The Karnataka government is confident of getting the Supreme Court's attention towards the drought-like situation in the state. Forty out of 57 TMC feet water left in four major Reservoirs in Cauvery basin will be used for drinking water in Mysore, Mandya and Bengaluru for the next 2 months. If there is no rainfall in the coming months, Karnataka will face its third consecutive drought adding more burden to the problem-stricken farmers.
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