River water disputes usually prolong over a long time before a satisfactory resolving is arrived between the entities. One such dispute is over sharing of Cauvery /water flowing in the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry. When India was ruled by the British, Madras Presidency (currently most areas of this comes under Tamilnadu) entered into an agreement with erstwhile Mysore State (presently these areas form part of Karnataka) in 1924. The British in their wisdom made an agreement that would last for 50 years believing that the states would preserve the water sharing arrangement or resolve additional issues amicably. Unfortunately, in the year 1974 when the agreement ended TamilNadu and Karnataka, the major contributors of water to cauvery river basin and users thereof could not resolve their differences in the water sharing. The 1924 agreement protected the interests of Tamilnadu and ensured water supply from the Karnataka side of cauvery river by imposing a condition that Karnataka does not develop irrigated land in its territory and confine the irrigated area to 3.24 lac acres.

After much wrangling the Government of India had to appoint a water tribunal in 1989 to resolve the water sharing problem. The tribunal gave an interim award in 1992 to ensure continuance of agricultural activities in Tamil nadu awarding 205 TMC water every year to be released to Karnataka. Karnataka did not like the interim award and did its best not to implement the same. There was an uproar in Karnataka as the locals believed that the tribunals has not let them retain all the water they can use by impounding the upstream rain water in the dam projects. That was when few politicians began playing the true to own language and culture card and went about disturbing the public peace and holding Tamil speaking public to ransom and started destroying their property. The loss and destructions were repeated in Tamilnadu too

The tribunal has delivered its verdict in 2007 after much deliberations when the share of Tamil Nadu of the estimated 740 TMC in a year was fixed at 419 TMC and that of Karnatraka At 270 TMC a year. Kerala (30 TMC) and Pondicherry (5 TMC) were given minor share. The final award meant a reduction in the commitment by Karnataka as it meant it had to release in best of rainy years 192 TMC as against the 205 TMC fixed earlier. Predictably Karnataka rejected the tribunal's award when the dispute resolving through such tribunal method can at best be reviewed by the tribunal if there are any errors in the proceedings. There are already petitions by the states concerned in the superior court of law.

The river water sharing has again become a flash point in the relations between the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka when the former sought to implement a drinking water project in Hogenakal a small town ship in the course of cauvery which incidentally boasts of a natural fall to quench the thirst of nearby districts. With the state assembly elections scheduled to be held in May 08 politicians in Karnataka and their counterparts in Tamil Nadu are back to old game putting the interests of the people above the national unity and co-existence in a multilingual and multicultural society. The situation in these two state capital of Chennai and Bangalore is at uneasy calm, Most times a wrong move any one community is likely to land up innocent to pay dearly with life and property.

Summary

Chennai and Bangalore are two best examples of cosmopolitan cities with people from both the regions contributing to the growth of their adopted states. Automobiles and Information Technology are two largest employment generators in these two states. Any long standing ethnic cleansing an unfavorable resolution of cauvery dispute would affect the ethnic population and it will spell doom for the integrity of the nation. The need of the hour goes beyond the politician who aims to win the masses through patently impracticable arguments. Either win or lose the ethnic population in these two cities and the investors have lot to ponder and collectively prevail upon the narrow minded politicians not to settle the rive water sharing on the streets bur across the legal frame work including level headed negotiations. Mind you this is not the only one such river riddled with water sharing problem. We have such issues in as many of the other states as well.

As I am finishing this piece the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have signed peace by postponing the confrontation on Hogenakal issue to be taken by popular government that will be in place in the next two months.