Water falls everywhere but not a drop to drink!

Whew! Another episode of the Cauvery issue came to an end (hopefully). This issue seems to have lasted longer than the longest TV show (or mega serials, as they are known in India).

I thought I should wade in and add a few thoughts and attempt to put things in perspective.

First, there is no prima facie case for Karnataka to rake up any issue. This was why the (interim) Karnataka government did not start or get involved in this episode. It also helped that this interim government is not run by politicians, but by bureaucrats under the President's authority. Hogenakkal water supply scheme was settled bilaterally between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu way back in 1998. The following articles enable one to ascertain some facts.

Editorial: A dose of practicality

The 1998 story of Hogenakkal

As mentioned in these articles, the water is for drinking purposes only and will be drawn from Tamil Nadu's share of the water downstream from the state border near Hogenakkal. The quantum of water to be realized by Tamil Nadu at the Mettur reservoir, stipulated by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, will be reduced by the water utilized by the Hogenakkal scheme. This means that Karnataka will not be affected in any way by this scheme.

A long pending election is approaching and the parties need some issue. What better than Cauvery? After much uncertainty and law and order problems on both sides of the state border, a temporary solution was announced by the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, putting this project on hold till the conclusion of the state elections in Karnataka. Also, former Karnakata Chief Minister S.M. Krishna quickly endorsed the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister's statement since there was no point beating a dead carcass.

However, the deplorable thing here was the behaviour, albeit of a narrow section of the political fringe, indulging in bus burning and destruction of property, providing periods of intense worry to all. People should not get carried away by the utterances of some political leader in search of issues. I hope more sense prevails next time (and there will be a next time, coinciding with the next election!).

P.S.: Hogenakkal is known for its beautiful water falls, where the Cauvery crosses the border into Tamil Nadu. However, the surrounding Dharmapuri district is parched and this scheme was intended to supply water there.