Karnataka has committed grave injustice to Kodagu in the utilization of the Cauvery river water, though Kodagu is the birthplace of the Cauvery.
The Rs 230-crore Harangi project has been conceived for the benefit of politically powerful Mysore and Hassan districts. Though the Harangi Dam (in picture) is in Kodagu and the major catchment area of the Cauvery is also in Kodagu, the irrigation potential from the project for Kodagu is a measly 607 hectares, out of the 54,591 hectares of total irrigation potential.
What is worse is the fact that 1,909 hectares involving 13 villages in Kodagu have been submerged due to the construction of the Harangi Dam near Hulugunda village in Somwarpet taluk, eight km from Kushalanagar.
The irony of it all is that Karnataka has been pleading before the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal that injustice had been done to the state in the allocation of Cauvery water (implying that Tamil Nadu had been given higher allocation under the 1924 Agreement).
The Harangi project plans utilization of 18 TMC, whereas the share of Kodagu district is only 0.800 TMC of water through a lift irrigation scheme.
The taluks to be benefited from the Harangi project are Hunsur, K.R. Nagar and Periyapatna in Mysore district and Arakalgudu in Hassan district. The work on the Harangi dam and 153 km of the left bank canal and 138.5 km of the right bank canal have been completed.
According to a report, out of the 790 TMC total yield of water in the Cauvery basin, the yield from Kodagu alone is 400 TMC.
Being the main catchment area of the Cauvery, Kodagu has to bear the brunt of floods during the monsoon with several areas getting marooned and damages being caused to the roads and communication. The State government should build new bridges to ensure that roads were not submerged during the monsoon, especially in and around Napokulu in Madikeri taluk.
The reasons for the neglect of irrigation is on account of the fact that Kodagu lost much of its political clout after the erstwhile Coorg State merged with Karnataka following the re-organisation of the States in 1956.
During 1972-73, when the Karnataka government planned to build the Kambadakada irrigation project across the Cauvery, an agitation broke out in Kodagu. The government buckled under pressure after Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa took up the issue with the policy-makers and explained to them the environmental dangers.
The Karnataka government is keen to build a major hydel project across the east-flowing Barapole river in Kodagu, which would lead to the submersion of a large area, including coffee plantations in southern Kodagu, and cause major damage to the ecology of the region.
Instead of building lift irrigation and check dams in Kodagu to create irrigation potential in the district, the Karnataka government through the state-owned Cauvery Niravari Nigama has spent money on the renovation of the Bhagamandala and Talacauvery temples. The joke doing the rounds in Kodagu is that the people in the district have to merely be satisfied with the holy water surging out of the Talacauvery pond during the annual Kaveri Sankramana festival.
The successive Karnataka governments have not only meted out injustice to Kodagu in the allocation of water for irrigation, but also withheld funds for a project to supply drinking water to Madikeri town, the district headquarters of Kodagu. This is nothing but a cruel joke played on the people of Kodagu for merging with Karnataka after being an independent State.
A proposal to supply drinking water to Madikeri town from river Cauvery at Bethri, 21 km from the town, has been hanging fire for more than two decades. When the Bethri project was conceived in the early Eighties, the estimated cost was Rs 1.25 crore. The revised estimate was Rs 15 crore. The babus in Vidhana Soudha have been sitting over the files of the project.
Before taking up with the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal the injustice caused to the state in the allocation of Cauvery water, the Karnataka government has to ensure that it does not cause injustice to the people in its own backyard.
Source: ‘Rise and Fall of the Coorg State: Kodagu’s Loss, Karnataka’s Gain’ by P.T. Bopanna. Rolling Stone Publications, 2010.
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The solution lies in strengthening the ecology of the catchment area and expanding it to include surrounding areas. Without harassing the people who live here, it is possible with PES or Payment for Ecological Services, and with the Forest Dept actually engaging in dialogue with people. They need to become a more people-friendly force. Kodagu needs more benefits from the infrastructure projects based within its borders, or it is subtle form of colonization. A halt needs to be brought to any further projects in Kodagu. The Cauvery bundh is going on today, instead of bringing Karnataka to a halt, the authorities should bring tree-cutting to a halt in Karnataka.
Interesting read.A tale of woe from all along river cauvery.What wrong did she do to earn the wrath of so many?