Cauveri river dispute: What's happening between the two states of India?

A life of a farmer in Tamil Nadu was never fair. The river Cauveri (also referred as ponni) which runs along the two states of Tamil Nadu namely Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. This river is the main source of water for both the states. The start of this dispute dates back to 1892 and 1924 when the Madras presidency and the kingdom of Mysore signed the agreements.

This dispute dates back to 1892 and 1924 when the Madras presidency and the Kingdom of Mysore signed the agreements

Based on the inflow of the river, Karnataka demands it's share of water. It states that the  pre-independence agreements are invalid and they are heavily influenced on the favor of Madras presidency. This is how it all started.

What's happening in Tamil Nadu?

Normal life in Tamil Nadu has been ruined by the continuous protests by the main opposition party, DMK (Dravida Munetra Kazhagam) and all other regional parties in Tamil Nadu. Several unions have also took part in the strike. The participation of the transport union workers stunted the normal life of Tamil Nadu people. All the shops remain closed till 6 A.M. to show their participation in the protest. IPL (Indian Premier League), the yearly cricket event is also affected by this protest. The protesters demands the cancellation of the match on the Chepauk stadium in Chennai. On the 10-April, There was a match fixture between the home and the visitor teams. Several parties and youngsters have protested both outside the stadium and the audience of the stadium. They throwed shoes inside the play-ground. However they were arrested by the police. Fearing Cauvery protest, Authorities deployed 2000 strong forces on the stadium ahead of the match.

Cinema celebrities and several youtube stars took part in these protest. They are the big inspiration for the youngsters of Tamil Nadu.

So what's the government doing in response?

The Government of Tamil Nadu is just trying to bottleneck these protesters. There is still no official statement in favor of these protesters. They are trying to suppress these by filling with special forces on potential places of protest such as the Marina beach and several places.

What's these protest all about?

To end the dispute between the two states after the independence, the two governments negotiated for almost 10 years. The farmers of Tamil Nadu rendered helpless as they can't get enough water for their irrigation needs. They are now protesting to immediately set up the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) for the supervising the distribution of available between the two states. The CMB had already been delayed by the government for about 3 years. As it seemed like the negotiation that took place for about 10 years, the farmers first started the protest. Then the people of Tamil Nadu followed its trail.

The crisis of 1995

Monsoon failed in the state of Karnataka in the year 1995-96. So there was not enough water for Karnataka to fulfill its own water needs. Tamil Nadu pleaded Karnataka to release 11 TMC of water. Karnataka replied that 11 TMC is not possible at the current situation. This is where all these disputes started. People got bad impression about the Karnataka government.

Again in 2002

This time monsoon failed in Both the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Reservoirs in both states fell to record low levels and inevitably tempers rose. Tamil Nadu demanded that it should release the Tamil Nadu's share of water. Again Karnataka didn't released water and stated that it is hardly able to satisfy their own water needs.

CRA meeting

A meeting of the Cauvery River Authority was called on 27 August 2002 but the Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha walked out of the meeting. The focus now shifted to the Supreme Court which ordered Karnataka to release 1.25 TMC of water every day unless the Cauvery River Authority revised it. Karnataka was forced to release water but pressed for another meeting of the Cauvery River Authority which was fixed for 8 September. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister this time boycotted the meet citing insufficient notice as the reason. A minister from her cabinet, however represented Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery River Authority revised the Court's order from 1.25 TMC to 0.8 TMC per day. This time however, the Karnataka government in open defiance of the order of the Cauvery River Authority, refused to release any water succumbing to the large scale protests that had mounted in the Cauvery districts of the state. Tamil Nadu aghast at the defiance, went back to the Supreme Court. Karnataka now resumed the release of water for a few days, but stopped it again on 18 September as a Karnataka farmers and their protests threatened to take a dangerous turn. The centre now stepped in and asked Karnataka to release the water. The Supreme Court meanwhile, in response to Tamil Nadu's petition asked the Cauvery River Authority for details of the water release and water levels in the reservoirs.

So what are your thoughts about all these issues and continuous protests. Let us know in the comments! Thank you for reading this blog!