Tag: regional conflict

Cauvery Dispute: Protests Intensify in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, All About Water Sharing & Legal Battles

Rain and water deficit have forced Karnataka to say it will not be able to release water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu. (Image: AFP/File)

Protests over the Cauvery water dispute intensified in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, with farmers in Trichy demanding the release of river water into their state while pro-Kannada outfits as well as farmers in Karnataka’s Mandya also continued to agitate.

The DMK said Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin is doing everything possible to handle the issue diplomatically even though the Karnataka government’s argument is that it does not have enough water to send to its neighbouring state.

“…Though their (Karnataka) argument is that there is a lack of water in Cauvery, at the same time Tamil Nadu is suffering as the delta farmers are totally dependent on agriculture… Tamil Nadu government is trying through legal process and, in all possible manner, seeking the support of the union government and jal shakti minister as well as coordinating through all possible sources to settle this issue amicably… our CM is very diplomatically handling this issue and we are hopeful that Tamil Nadu will get its due,” said DMK MP Tiruchi Siva.

Here is all you need to know about the latest developments:

  1. The protests have intensified in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as farmers in both states continued their agitation. Pro-Kannada outfits are also protesting over the Cauvery water sharing dispute alongside farmers. In fact, in Karnataka, farmers and organisations observing the ‘Mandya bandh’ have given a call for shutdown.
  2. These pro-Kannada organisations have called for ‘Bengaluru Bandh’ on September 26. They appealed to schools, colleges, shopkeepers, owners of commercial establishments, factories, companies and transporters to support their call.
  3. Reacting to the bandh call, Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, “The state government is committed to protecting the interest of the state. Yet, the opposition parties are giving a political dimension to the Cauvery issue.” He said the state government has made a representation to the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) with regard to the release of water to Tamil Nadu.
  4. The Karnataka government has said it will take all necessary steps to protect the interest of the people of the state and its farmers, by ensuring water for both crops and drinking water. “We have protected the interest of the farmers and people of the state and will continue to do so. Let those who want to do politics on the issue continue to do so,” Shivakumar said.
  5. Amid protests in different parts of Karnataka and a call for a bandh, police have tightened security across the state. The protests erupted after the Supreme Court refused to interfere with orders of the CWMA and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) directing the state to release 5,000 cusecs of water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu. There are protests in the Cauvery river basin districts of Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagara, Ramanagara, Bengaluru and other parts of the state urging the state not to release water to Tamil Nadu. The agitation has spread to districts like Chitradurga, Ballari, Davangere, Koppal and Vijayapura.

WHAT IS THE CONGRESS-LED KARNATAKA GOVERNMENT’S SOLUTION?

The Karnataka government has pitched the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project as a solution to settle the Cauvery river water dispute between both states. It has also indicated that the state will initiate the process towards realising the project.

Shivakumar said: “Already, 3,000 to 3,500 cusecs of water is flowing to Tamil Nadu as it is, and along with this we will also try to protect the interest of the farmers and drinking water requirements, this is our firm commitment.”

He said the state water resources minister did not specify whether Karnataka will comply with the CWMA’s order or not. Asked if Karnataka was open to talks with Tamil Nadu, he said, “Not now… let’s see after the 15-day period is over. We have requested the Centre to intervene and hold talks between both states.”

As of now 3,000 to 3,500 cusecs water is flowing to Tamil Nadu, and inflow is around 8,000 cusecs. The Mekedatu balancing reservoir project came up during the proceedings in the SC as well. But Tamil Nadu, in the past, has orally said it should not be taken up while the previous state government had filed an affidavit regarding the project. Despite Rs 1,000 crore set aside for the project, work could not be taken up.

WHAT HAS THE SUPREME COURT AND CWMA SAID?

The CWMA on September 18 asked Karnataka to continue releasing 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu for another 15 days, after the CWRC made such a recommendation last week.

The SC, meanwhile, has rejected applications of both states. The court refused to interfere with orders of the CWMA and CWRC directing Karnataka to release 5,000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu, following which protests erupted in different parts of the state.

WHAT IS KARNATAKA’S POSITION ON WATER SHARING?

Karnataka has maintained that it is not in a position to release water, taking into account its own requirement for drinking water and irrigation of standing crops in the Cauvery basin areas. There has been water scarcity due to deficit monsoon rains.

Karnataka had approached the apex court seeking a direction to the CWMA to reconsider its order to release 5,000 cusecs to Tamil Nadu. Before the top court pronounced its order, chief minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar called on union jal shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Delhi and told him of the state’s inability to comply with the CWMA’s order.

WHY ARE FARMERS IN BOTH STATES PROTESTING?

Protests erupted following the SC ruling, with incensed farmers and pro-Kannada outfits in different parts of the state demanding that the state should defy the court order on water release. Mysuru, Mandya, Bengaluru and Chamarajanagara witnessed protests. The protesting farmers tried to block the highway in Chamarajanagara.

The Tamil Nadu government, meanwhile, ruled out any scope for parleys as sought by Karnataka, with state water resources minister Duraimurugan indicating that they will not compromise on its due share.

“There’s no scope for talks on the Cauvery issue, as parleys over the years did not yield any results,” Duraimurugan said. Farmers in the neighbouring state are also protesting over the water sharing dispute.

At least 25 killed in Russian air raids on Ukraine cities

At least 25 civilians have been killed in a wave of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities, as Kyiv said it was nearly ready to launch a huge assault to retake occupied land.

The attacks on the cities of Dnipro and Uman in the early hours of Friday were the first large-scale air raids in nearly two months.

Firefighters tackled a blaze at a residential apartment hit by a Russian missile in the central town of Uman and rescue workers clambered through a huge pile of smouldering rubble, searching for survivors and bodies as anxious people stood by. Officials said at least 23 civilians were killed there, including four children.

Rescue workers carried a body away on a stretcher. A man wearing a face mask sobbed as he watched and a woman came to comfort him.

“No one is left,” said Serhii Lubivskyi, 58, who survived inside a flat on the seventh floor. He was rescued by firefighters from the balcony where he escaped with his wife after the explosion blocked their front door.

Lubivskyi wept as he took a deep drag from a cigarette and looked up at the smouldering gaps in the building where adjacent flats had been blasted away. “My neighbours are gone. No one is left,” he said. “Only the kitchens were left standing.”

Firefighters work to extinguish a fire after a Russian attack on a residential building in Uman, central Ukraine, [Bernat Armangue/AP]
Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv said that the attack, according to the Ukrainian government, was executed by one of “23 cruise missiles and so-called kamikaze drones that Russia fired in the early hours of Friday morning. Some were reportedly launched from as far away as the Caspian Sea,” he said.

The attacks show “Russia’s ability to strike targets across this country whenever and wherever it pleases”, he said.
The wave of Russian missile attacks overnight was the first since early March. Russia had launched such attacks almost weekly for most of the winter, but they tapered off as spring arrived, with Western countries saying Moscow was running out of missiles.

Moscow said the targets of its overnight attacks were locations of Ukrainian reserve troops, which it had struck successfully, preventing them from reaching the front. It supplied no evidence to support this.

In the southeastern city of Dnipro, a missile struck a house, killing a two-year-old child and a 31-year-old woman, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said.

The capital Kyiv was also rocked by explosions in the early hours, as were the central cities of Kremenchuk and Poltava, and Mykolaiv in the south. Two people were wounded in the town of Ukrayinka just south of Kyiv, officials said.

Ukrainian counteroffensive
The war is coming to a crucial juncture after a months-long Russian winter offensive that gained little ground despite the bloodiest fighting so far. Kyiv is preparing a counteroffensive using hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles sent by the West.

It wants to drive Russia out of the nearly one-fifth of Ukraine that it occupies and claims to have annexed.

“As soon as there is God’s will, the weather and a decision by commanders, we will do it,” Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleskii Reznikov told an online news briefing on Friday.

Ukraine was “to a high percentage ready”, he said, with new modern weapons to provide an “iron fist”.

Cruise missiles
Closer to the front, in Donetsk, an eastern city controlled by Russian proxies since 2014, a Russian-installed official said seven people, including a child, had been killed by Ukrainian shelling that hit a minibus.

Reuters was unable to independently verify the number of casualties or who was to blame. Ukrainian officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Ukrainian military said it had shot down 21 out of 23 cruise missiles fired by Russia. Moscow has said it does not deliberately target civilians. Kyiv says attacks on cities far from the front lines have no military purpose apart from intimidating and harming civilians, a war crime.

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/28/at-least-25-killed-in-russian-air-raids-on-ukraine-cities

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