Cauvery row: Karnataka informs Expert Committee it is short of 20 tmc ft water

Bengaluru: The state government informed the Cauvery Water Expert Committee on Friday that Karnataka was short of around 20 tmc ft of water to save its standing crop over 4.27 lakh acres and supply drinking water to the people dependent on the river for their needs.  

“The team’s aim is to distribute water between the two states in a judicious manner,” Central Water Commission Chairman G.S. Jha told reporters.

The team first visited Maddur in Mandya and is scheduled to visit KR Pet on Saturday and inspect Hemavathi dam.  It will then leave for Tamil Nadu to inspect Mettur dam.     

Chief Secretary, Subhas Chandra Khuntia, who briefed the  Cauvery Water Expert Committee headed by CWC chairman, G S Jha, said the state had cultivated only one- third of the 18.5 lakh acres of agricultural fields in Cauvery basin owing to the poor monsoon and farmers were even so opting for dry or semi-irrigated crops here.

The situation was so bad that of the 6.15 acres cultivated, crops had withered over 1.88 lakh acres and if Karnarka was to save the remaining crop over 4.27 lakh acres and also provide drinking water, it needed around 45 tmc ft of water. But currently it had a storage of only 25 tmc ft in its Cauvery reservoirs, leaving it short of 20 tmc ft of water, Mr Khuntia said.

The government made a audio-visual presentation on changes in  rain and  crop patterns and  ground water depletion over the last 40 years before Water Resource Minister, M B Patil submitted a memorandum to Mr Jha detailing Karnataka's crisis.

Speaking to reporters after the state briefing, Mr Jha  said  the committee would take a balanced view of the  issue after visiting Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Farmers pour out their woes,  is central team convinced?
Scores of farmers poured out their woes to the high-level central  technical team, led by Mr G.S. Jha, Chairman, Central Water commission (CWC), on the first day of the four-day tour of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, to gauge the ground reality in terms of availability of water and condition of crops in the Cauvery basin, on Friday.  

These farmers mobbed members of the team and explained their hardship in view of a failed monsoon soon after the arrival of the experts at Huligerepura village in Maddur taluk in two helicopters. The local administration provided details of the deficit rainfall as the team moved from Hemmanahalli and Tailur villages in Maddur taluk to Koppa, Pannedoddi, Araseenakere and later toured villages in Malavalli taluk before reaching KRS dam through Srirangapatna town.

Admitting acute shortage of water in the basin region, Mr Jha said “We visited some villages in Maddur taluk, and are trying to understand the ground reality. The team is yet to visit many places and the dams including KRS. We will submit a report based on ground reality to the Supreme Court after visiting Karnataka and TN.”

Mr C S Puttaraju, JS (S) MP, Maddur MLA D.C. Thamanna, MLC Appajigowda and former MLA, Dr Annadani, met the experts.