Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are once again at logger heads over the sharing of the Cauvery waters. Why have the successive agreements failed to resolve the century-long dispute?
THERE IS nothing unnatural about the Cauvery conflict. Any river that runs through different political boundaries is bound to have regions and people fighting over the resource. What is unnatural is the factors that have rendered the water-sharing agreements between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu—the two main stakeholders in the dispute—dysfunctional since they were first drafted in 1872.
This September, the conflict once again dominated the news after Karnataka refused to release water to Tamil Nadu, the downstream state. Karnataka says it cannot share water when the Cauvery reservoirs are barely able to satisfy the drinking water needs of the state. By refusing to share water, it flouted the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (cwdt) award of 2007 that mandated a proportionate reduction in each state’s share in rain-deficit years.
This year the two states received deficit rainfall, especially around the source of the river. Tamil Nadu promptly took the matter to the Supreme Court. It maintains that its farmers growing the winter crop of paddy, or samba, are totally dependent on the Cauvery water.
Denne historien er fra October 1, 2016-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 1, 2016-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
In leading role again
MOVIES AND WEB SERIES ARE ONCE AGAIN BEING SET IN RUSTIC BACKGROUNDS, INDICATING A RECONNECT BETWEEN CINEMA AND THE COUNTRYSIDE
One Nation One Subscription comes at a huge cost
As top US universities scrap big deals with top scientific publishers, India’s ONOS scheme seems flawed and outdated
Return of Rambhog
Bid to revive and sell the aromatic indigenous paddy variety has led to substantial profits for farmers in Uttar Pradesh's Terai region
Scarred by mining
Natural springs of Kashmir drying up due to illegal riverbed mining
Human-to-human spread a mutation away
CANADA IN mid-November confirmed its first human case of avian influenza, with a teenager in the British Columbia being hospitalised after contracting the H5N1 virus that causes the disease. The patient developed a severe form of the disease, also called bird flu, and had respiratory issues. There was no known cause of transmission.
True rehabilitation
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Kakdi village take relocation as an opportunity to undertake afforestation, develop sustainable practices
INESCAPABLE THREAT
Chemical pollution is the most underrated and underreported risk of the 21st century that threatens all species and regions
THAT NIGHT, 40 YEARS AGO
Bhopal gas disaster is a tragedy that people continue to face
A JOKE, INDEED
A CONFERENCE OF IRRESPONSIBLE PARTIES THAT CREATED AN OPTICAL ILLUSION TO THE REALITY OF A NEW CLIMATE
THINGS FALL APART
THE WORLD HAS MADE PROGRESS IN MITIGATING EMISSIONS AND ADAPTING TO CLIMATE IMPACTS. BUT THE PROGRESS REMAINS GROSSLY INADEQUATE