B’luru shuts down for a right cause and reaps dividends

On Tuesday, Bengaluru shut down for the cause of Cauvery water and rightfully so in a year when the South-West Monsoon has been pretty harsh on Karnataka with the reservoirs in the Old Mysore region not filling up.

The Cauvery is the lifeline of several districts in the south and south-east of the state and deficient rains in districts like Kodagu and in north Kerala, considered the catchment areas for the river, have left farmers wondering about the fate of their crops.

A few days ago, the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) had directed Karnataka to release 5000 cusecs of water daily to Tamil Nadu, which has been raising the pitch for more water from the Cauvery basin dams.

This has led to deep fears that Karnataka’s reservoirs may get depleted to the extent of not having enough water to meet the drinking needs of Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mandya.

With the South-West Monsoon in the withdrawal phase, all that Karnataka can now hope for is a few spells of rain from the North-East Monsoon which also provides bountiful rain to Tamil Nadu.

So the news that amid the bandh, the CWRC had decided to cut the quantum of water for Tamil Nadu from 5000 cusecs to 3000 cusecs, could not have come at a better time.

Where does a permanent solution lie in resolving the Cauvery crisis which keeps recurring at regular intervals and becomes a serious issue disrupting ties between the two states in a deficit year?

Last year in January, the Congress party, then in the opposition in Karnataka, had taken out a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mekedatu when Covid was raging, to highlight the pressing need to implement the project.

The party obviously has a point for as high as 400 tmcfeet of water flowed into the sea as waste last year without being tapped. The Deputy CM of Karnataka, DK Shivakumar has declared that the proposed balancing reservoir at Mekedatu is the only solution to the Cauvery water shortage and the standoff with TN but the neighbouring state continues to insist that the project is illegal.

The BJP on its part, after losing power in Karnataka, seems intent on playing a political game blaming the Congress for being too ‘soft on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in TN.

The party knows that by targeting the DMK-Congress alliance in TN, it can pass on the blame to the ruling party in Karnataka for ignoring the state’s interests just for the sake of keeping the INDIA opposition alliance free from hiccups.

Playing politics on something as basic and vital as water will however not bring any dividends for the BJP or for any other party for that matter. The people of the state are wise enough to see through any game plan to score points at a time when the Lok Sabha polls are fast approaching and the Cauvery water row could well become one of the contentious issues.

There have been years when Karnataka has released more than its due share of water to Tamil Nadu when the rains have been kind to the state - something leaders in TN know quite well.

So instead of upping the ante on the Cauvery row every year the skies fail to open up, it would be ideal for Tamil Nadu to discuss the Mekedatu project with Karnataka’s leaders so that a plan can be devised on implementing it and harnessing the rich potential of the Cauvery which is now going waste.

Karnataka’s farmers need water as much as others do and its leaders have rightly decided to restrict the water flow to TN.

The government needs all support in its endeavour to protect the state’s interests amid the tussle with TN which should have realised the difficult situation Karnataka finds itself in and should have tried to hammer out a harmonious solution than up the ante and take the legal route.