Is the Cauvery River Dispute Meandering Off Course?

The Cauvery water dispute has been plaguing Karnataka for a century now and recently, for almost a week, there have been protests against the Supreme Court’s order to Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of water for Tamil Nadu.

Since there is no relief in sight, farmers and pro-Kannada groups have organised demonstrations, shut-downs and have even threatened violence against Tamilians in Karnataka. Chaos and ruckus over the dispute are not new to the two states. It is only one of the umpteen times that the Cauvery water dispute has left Karnataka and Tamil Nadu shattered.
While the centre of the dispute is the distribution of water from the Cauvery basin to Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, little has been said about the River Cauvery and what remains of it, after more than 100 years of a protracted water tangle.

The Cauvery dispute started in the year 1892, between the Madras Presidency (under the British Raj) and the Princely state of Mysore.

• It was decided to divide the river water between the two states.
• The 765-km-long river cuts across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. A lot of its basin area is covered by Kerala and Puducherry.
• The basin is now claimed by four states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry.
• The river dispute has attracted some of the most extreme protests and dharnas.
• In 2013, the Centre was mandated to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, a decision Karnataka protested.
• 100 years on, the four states continue the bitter fight.

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