Testing Waters

 

 

What started as a face-off between the Diwan of Mysore and the Madras Presidency has snowballed into a major political storm. After 17 years of long wait and 506 days of hearing, when the Cauvery disputes tribunal came out with a verdict, it was celebration time in Tamil Nadu, which is now a major beneficiary of the verdict. A tense Karnataka feared a backlash against Tamils in Bengalooru, but as of now, Gandhigiri has prevailed with activists largely sticking to peaceful demonstrations. According to the verdict, Tamil Nadu gets 419 tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of Cauvery water while Karnataka gets 270 tmc ft. The actual release of water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu is to be 192 tmc ft annually. Swamimalai S.Vimalanathan, Tanjore District secretary of Cauvery farmers protection movement is angry. “In Tanjore area in seventies, we cultivated crops for three times annually. But it was all gone with time.We could do only one crop successfully now. Even that seems to be difficult now. ”

The Cauvery Water Tribunal, in its interim award of June 1991, ordered that Karnataka release 205 tmc of water to Tamil Nadu during one water year, from May to June. It also set a weekly quantum of flow, much to the chagrin of Karnataka. This led to large scale violence on Tamils living in Karnataka. The interim order was followed by Karnataka and it released much more than 205 tmc ft of water every year except during the year 1995-96. This led to the Supreme Court coming down heavily on Karnataka.

"Given the circumstances this is the best verdict one can get” says N. Natarjan, retired PWD senior engineer who is also technical advisor to Cauvery farmers protection movement in Trichy District.

Politicians in Tamil Nadu, including Chief Minister Karunanidhi welcomed the verdict but PMK's Dr. Ramadoss said that the verdict did not meet the expectations of the people of the State.

In Karnataka, fearing a repeat of events of 1991, the State government took a number of security measures. Commissioner of Police Neelam Achuta Rao told newspersons that 12 platoons of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have arrived in the city. Additional police forces and Home Guards have been summoned from north Karnataka districts. A proposed Karnataka shutdown has been postponed by activists to 12 February.

Meanwhile, the district Kannada Chaluvali Agitation Committee, has asked the MPs of Karnataka to resign for failing to protect the interests of crores of farmers of the State under the Cauvery river water dispute. "Our MPs have let us down," said a representative.

As Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy held an all-party meeting to frame the State's course of action, it is clear that the road to an amicable solution to the Cauvery crisis is strewn with thorns. Though it is almost certain that Karnataka will approach the Supreme Court against the latest verdict, it is indeed sad that two neighbouring States have turned into staunch enemies with people ultimately bearing the brunt.