Watch | Why has the Cauvery water dispute flared up again?

A video explaining the latest Cauvery river water-sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu

In the last month, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been witnessing heated protests. Farmers in both States have taken to the streets while bandhs have been observed in Karnataka’s south interior districts and the capital city of Bengaluru this past week.  

This intense battle is being waged for the waters of the river Cauvery, the focal point of a long-standing water dispute that dates back to over 150-years.  

With the power to determine the agriculture and economies of the four riparian States of south India, the Cauvery river is both a vital lifeforce and a bone of contention between them. Distress is not uncommon to the Cauvery basin and the decades old water sharing row flares up when  there is  a weak southwest monsoon in the region. 

The conflict over Cauvery water sharing between TN and Karnataka rose from two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency and Mysore princely State. After Independence, when the latter or Karnataka began expanding irrigation network in its part of the Cauvery basin, the dispute acquired greater intensity than in the past, as the State had complained that the 1924 pact was .”heavily in favour” of the Madras presidency. 

How is the water shared? Why has the issue resurfaced this year? What is the way forward? 

Reporting and inputs: T. Ramakrishnan, Karnataka Bureau

Presentation: Nalme Nachiyar