Is the Mandya district administration ‘unnecessarily’ releasing water to Tamil Nadu in an attempt to regain the charm of picturesque Gaganachukki waters falls of Cauvery, downstream Krishnaraja Sagar, to organise the ‘Jalapathotsava’ (festival of waterfalls)? This has been the cause of worry of farmers in the Cauvery basin ahead of Jalapathotsava, the two-day cultural festival of dance and music which will commence next to the waterfalls from Saturday. The quantum of water being discharged to Cauvery from KRS near Srirangapatna in the past few days has raised eyebrows. It is suspected that the purpose of augmenting the discharge was to revive the glory of the waterfalls near Malavalli of Mandya district for the festival.
The Gaganachukki falls are known for their breathtaking beauty and attract thousands of tourists every year. Nevertheless, it achieves its glory only during monsoon. The water from KRS was being discharged at the rate of 1,167 cusecs on January 13, 2020. It rose to 2,137 on the next day, 2,803 on January 15; 4,527 on January 16 and 4,550 cusecs on Friday. Surprisingly, according to sources at the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL), of the discharge, around 2,800 cusecs were for Visvesvaraya Canal.
Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) has accused the district administration of ‘illegally discharging’ water to revive the glory of the falls, and indirectly helping Tamil Nadu get water.
On Friday, KRRS members blocked Bengaluru-Mysuru highway to question the organisers. “The district administration has been taking ‘foolish steps’ to artificially rejuvenate the waterfall to conduct the festival,” Shambhunahalli Suresh, district president, KRRS, told The Hindu on Friday.
According to him, farmers were denied water to save crops during the crucial period in May last year in spite of holding protests for 10 days continuously. However, a huge quantum of water was being released to make the falls come alive now. Most of the crops are at the harvesting stage. Most of the water flowing in Visvesvaraya Canal for the past three days will also reach Tamil Nadu, he said.
Karnataka Pranta Raitha Sangha (KPRS) and Malavalli Taluk Paddy Growers’ Committee too staged protests outside the office of tahsildar in Malavalli and condemned huge sums being spent on the event. The State government and district administration have failed to procue paddy under the support price, KPRS president N.L. Bharat Raj told presspersons. Has the district administration obtained permission from the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), which is mandatory, before releasing water from the reservoir, asked Mr. Suresh.
Senior officials were unavailable for comment.
