Rivers are an important source of human existence and can be used for several purposes including drinking, cleaning, and other household purposes. They are also vital for the tourism industry. One can find both east-flowing and west-flowing rivers in the state of Karnataka.
There are nearly 48 rivers in the state of Karnataka still the state is frequently prone to droughts and disputes. These frequent droughts have severely affected the income of farmers thereby leading them to commit suicide.
Karnataka is fighting the Cauvery river dispute with Tamil Nadu on one side and the Mahadayi river dispute on the other side. When there are so many rivers in the state then why this problem? Let us look at the matter and find why there is a dispute.
The river Cauvery flows through four states namely Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry. The main dispute is between the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Cauvery water’s use and development were regulated by the agreements of 1892 and 1924 between the Madras presidency and the erstwhile princely state of Mysore. This agreement was necessary as Madras objected to building the Krishnarajasagar dam across the Cauvery by Mysore in 1924. The agreement facilitated it by allowing Madras to build another dam named Mettur. The agreement had a significant feature that it could put restrictions on the extent of the area that could be safely irrigated by the two states using the Cauvery waters. Later, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry were given 75% of the Cauvery water, Karnataka was given 23% and rest was given to Kerala. But later, amendments were demanded by Karnataka for more supply. A dispute arose between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka because Tamil Nadu wanted to maintain a hold over the water. Since then the matter is stretched.
The Supreme Court passed an order on this matter on February 16 in the year 2018 and recommended to form a new committee to solve the dispute. The Cauvery River Dispute is serving as a political hot potato. Bandhs are being organized in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on various occasions whenever the matter is being raised. Recently, on Thursday, April 5, a state-wide bandh wass organized in the state by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led oppositions. The shops, schools, bus services etc also get affected due to these bandhs. It is due to the failure of the center to constitute a Cauvery Management Board.
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