Injustice to Tamil Nadu in Cauvery
Being in the headwaters of the Cauvery, Karnataka acts as if it owns the entire Cauvery water. As a result, Cauvery water has not been reasonably available to Tamil Nadu so far. Every time there is a struggle to gain. The Cauvery Management Authority was formed in 2018 as a result of years of legal struggle.
Mettur dam is not open
But even the orders of the Cauvery Commission are not being implemented by the Karnataka government. Last year only about half of the 177.25 TMC of water that was supposed to come to Tamil Nadu. This year too no water has come to Tamil Nadu. The water inflow to Mettur Dam has been very low for more than one year. Due to this, the water from Mettur dam was not released for Kuruvai cultivation this year.
Mettur dam water level
In this context, the water level in Mettur dam is 39.65 feet. The volume of water coming to the dam is 818 cubic feet. Water availability is 11.91 TMC. 1000 cubic feet of water per second is released from the dam for drinking water only. Due to low inflow and high discharge, Mettur dam water level is falling.
Heavy rains in Karnataka
At the same time, it has been raining heavily in the Cauvery catchment areas of Karnataka for more than a week. Due to this, the water level of the dams across the river Cauvery, including Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini, is rising. There is a chance that the dams will reach their full capacity as rains are expected in the coming days.
Fast-filling dams
As of now, the inflow of KRS dam is 8,787 cubic feet and the water storage is 20.19 TMC. The inflow of Kabini dam is 11,269 cubic feet and the water storage is 16.20 TMC. About 2000 cubic feet of water is being released from both the dams as surplus water. The water flow in other dams is also high.
Cauvery Commission meeting
In this context, there is an expectation of what order the Cauvery Commission will give. In the Cauvery Management Commission meeting held last week, Karnataka said that they do not have water of their own, so they cannot release water to Tamil Nadu. The Cauvery Commission meeting ended without taking any decision.
Karnataka cannot escape
Currently Karnataka is receiving good rains and the water flow of the dams is increasing and filling rapidly. Thus, Karnataka cannot escape from the Cauvery Commission by saying that they do not have water. Even if there is an escape, Karnataka has no other option but to open water to Tamil Nadu as the supporting statistics will be in the hands of the commission.
Farmers wait
The Cauvery delta farmers are hoping that Karnataka should order the release of water from the Cauvery. If water is released like that, Mettur Dam will be full. The Cauvery Delta farmers are waiting for the order to come as it will provide water for the cultivation of Kuruvai.
