Mahadayi River Row: Karnataka Bandh Called on Jan 25, Bengaluru on Feb 4 -- What is the Issue all About?

Bengaluru, Jan 22: The Kannada Chalavi Vatal Pakhsha (KCVP), an umbrella group representing dozens of pro-Kannada and farmer outfits, has called a statewide bandh in Karnataka on January 25. The group has also called a bandh in Bengaluru on February 4, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to address a rally in the city.

The bandh call was issued to mark their dissent against the state and central governments as their demands related to the Mahadayi river sharing row has remained unaddressed.

Mahadayi river-sharing row: What is the issue all about?

Since the early '90s, the states of Karnataka and Goa have been locked in a dispute over the sharing of Mahadayi river, which flows into both the states, and through parts of Maharashtra.

Originating from the Belagavi district of Karnataka, the Mahadayi flows through Goa - where it is called Mandovi river - into the Arabia Sea through Panaji.

Nearly 76 of the 111-km of the river flows in Goa, whereas, the remainder is shared by Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The dispute escalated after the Karnataka government began the construction of Kalasa-Banduri Nala project - a network of canals and dams - to divert nearly 7.56 thousand million cubic feet of water.

The move evoked a sharp response from the Goa government, which demanded the set up of Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal to address the issue.

The tribunal was finally set up in 2010, and after six years of studying the case, it rejected Karnataka's appeal seeking approval for the Kalasa-Banduri project in 2016.

The tribunal's rejection evoked sharp protests across Karnataka, with farmers and Kannada groups blaming both - the Centre and the Siddaramaiah-led government in the state - for failing to convince the tribunal to rule in Karnataka's favour.

Kannada groups up the ante in run-up to the polls

The agitating Kannada groups have exerted pressure on both the BJP and Congress seeking a resolution to the Mahadayi water crisis, which they describe as the prime reason for the recurring droughts in North Karnataka.

BJP state unit president and the party's chief ministerial candidate moving into the polls next year, B S Yeddyurappa, wrote to Goa CM Manohar Parrikar last month, in a bid to break the impasse.

In response to his letter, Parrikar said his government would release some amount of water "on humanitarian grounds".

The conversation between Parrikar and Yeddyurappa evoked sharp response in both the states. Parrikar not only drew the ire of his Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah, who accused him of not responding to his letters on the issue, but discussing an official subject with his party peer Yeddyurappa. The Goa CM also faced wrath from within his Cabinet, with the State Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar saying that he would not even allow "a drop of water to be granted to Karnataka".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 22, 2018 07:35 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).