Is Karnataka Releasing Cauvery Water To Tamil Nadu Amid Water Crisis In Bengaluru?

As the Bengaluru grappling with water crisis, the state BJP unit has cornered the Siddaramaiah government, accusing it of releasing Cauvery water from the KRS dam to Tamil Nadu.

"Bengaluru is facing a severe drinking water crisis. However, the government is continuously releasing water to Tamil Nadu. It is such a shame that they have come to an adjustment with the Tamil Nadu government as they are in an alliance in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls," The New Indian Express quoted Leader of Opposition in Assembly R Ashoka of saying.

The BJP criticized the Congress government, accusing it of protecting the interests of its alliance partner, the DMK in Tamil Nadu.

There was also report that claimed that the Congress government has released over 4,000 cusecs of water quietly to Tamil Nadu. Farmers had voiced their outrage over this development by the state government.

Is there a truth to the allegations?

The Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) has said that it has released water to address the water issues in Bengaluru, not for Tamil Nadu,

As per the CNNL officials, Mysuru and Bengaluru require 1,000 cusecs of water daily for drinking and industrial purposes. Specifically for Bengaluru, 600 cusecs of water from the Shiva dam in Malavalli is being released from the Thorekadanahalli reservoir.

However, the water level at the Shiva reservoir dropped to just 36 inches from March 6 to 8. In response to a request from BWSSB officials on March 9, approximately 4,780 cusecs of water were released from the KRS dam at 7 pm.

In addition to it, 2,000 cusecs of water are also being released from the Kabini dam, resulting in a 16-inch increase in the water level at the Shiva reservoir.

On March 10, 2,769 cusecs of water were released to the Shiva reservoir, leading to an 18-inch increase in its water level. Also, the release from the KRS dam was reduced to 1,008 cusecs by noon.

DK Shivakumar's Statement

Meanwhile, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said that there is no question of releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu at any cost now. Shivakumar clarified that a portion of the water was discharged from the KRS dam to replenish the Shiva Balancing Reservoir at Malavalli, from where it is pumped to Bengaluru.

"There is no question of releasing Cauvery river water to Tamil Nadu now at any cost, we have not left (released)....How much water flows to Tamil Nadu, there is an account for it. Even if water is released today it will take four days to reach there," PTI quoted Shivakumar, who is also the water resources minister, as saying.

Does Bengaluru Have Enough Water To Survive?

On the other hand, The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has said that Bengaluru has adequate water supply to meet the needs of people for the next five months.

"Despite the ongoing challenges, the water requirement for the next five months is estimated at 8 thousand million cubic feet (tmc), and the city has an adequate water supply to meet these needs," BWSSB chairman Prashanth Manohar said.

He said, "We must clarify this to the people of Bengaluru and also the global citizens about Bengaluru. In the city, we have 1 crore 40 lakh population, 150 litres of water consumption per person per day is required. The total quantity required for Bengaluru is 200000 mld (million litres per day)."

Talking about the sources from where the city is getting water, he said, "Right now from Cauvery, we are getting 10450 mld of water. Currently, the reservoir provides 34 thousand million cubic feet (tmc) of water. The requirement for Bengaluru for the next five months is only eight tmc water. The water from Cauvery will be sufficient till July."