Rationalist Tamil Nadu will echo with the recitation of Varuna Japa, a ritual to propitiate the rain God so that farmers in the State’s Rice Bowl get copious rainfall for their agricultural operations. All Vinayakar Temples along the banks of River Kaveri will see yagnas and pujas by the farmers seeking divine intervention to save them from draught so that they could resume rice cultivation according to V Rajaram of Mahadanapuram in Tiruchirappalli district.

“The farmers along the Kaveri River basin in Tamil Nadu are dependent on Karnataka’s magnanimity to release water from Krishna Raja Sagar Dam in that State. Since Karnataka is facing severe water shortage because of weak South West Monsoon, we cannot depend on her mercy,” Rajaram, the 86-year old president of Kaveri Delta Farmers Welfare Association told The Pioneer.

Karnatak has refused to release one TMCFT (thousand million cubic feet) water every day from July 12 till July 31 as per the directive of Kaveri Water Regulation Committee. The Mettur Dam in Tail Nadu starts releasing water for cultivation on June 12. But this year, the dam is yet to be opened as the wtare level remains precariously low,” said A Sathyanarayana, president, Consortium of Kaveri Delta Farmers based at Thiruvarur.

Kuruvai (short term crop) is cultivated during 12th June to 12th August every year, Since Tamil Nadu does not get South West Monsoon, the farmers are dependent on Kaveri River which originates in Karnataka and flows into Bay of Bengal through the Delta districts in the former State.

According to the  Supreme Court verdict and Kaveri Water Dispute Tribunal award, Karnataka has to release 192 TMCFT water every water year to Tamil Nadu. A water year is the 12-month period that begins in  June.

But if Karnataka does not get copious rainfall during the South West Monsoon, water level in its reservoirs get depleted making it impossible for the former to discharge the water specified by the KWDT. Whenever there is shortage of rainfall , the Governments in both the State launch water battle and takes up the matter to Supreme Court.

Karnataka knows it well that even if it does not release water neither the Supreme Court nor the Central Government would do any harm. So the Karnataka Government has bluntly refused the directive of Kaveri Water Regulation Committee asking the State to release one TMCFT water from 12 July to 31 July  to the lower riparian State.

The short term Kuruvai is cultivated in  four lakh acres of paddy fields in the four Delta districts of Tamil Nadu which are also known as the Rice Bowl of the State.

Though Tamil Nadu politicians are fully aware of the uncertainty associated with the availability of Kaveri River Water, the only thing they have done till date is to pass resolutions in the legislative assembly and send the same to the Centre.

Tamil Nadu has one of the longest coasts in India and it could set up modern desalination plants with which the State can produce its entire water requirements of the State. But neither the DMK nor the AIADMK  have done anything to make use of the desalination technology available with Chennai based National Institute of Ocean Technology or the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Centre at Kalpakkam.

The State of Israel is the leader in desalination technology but the DMK Government has not done anything to make it available.

The Pioneer has published dozens of reports and articles highlighting the impending water shortage faced by the State. But the DMK government’s top priority is to ensure the uninterrupted flow of political power from grandfather to father to son.

“The DMK family has no interest in farmlands and their only interest is real estate and prime properties in vantage points,” said R V Giri, former president, Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA) told The Pioneer.