by K.A. Shaji
• The delta of river Kaveri, which is the agricultural backbone of south India, has shrunk by 20
• The region witnessed an increase in the wasteland area since 1971, according to experts. Upstream dams trap silt and do not let it flow into the delta.
• Water-intensive agriculture and industrial practices are adding to the problem.
• The farmers of the delta, who had been working for the past few years to get their voice heard by national leaders, are taking the issues into the national election discussions.
Despite being one of the oldest water-regulator structures in the world that is still functional, the Kallanai dam or the Grand Anicut looks almost empty with not much water to regulate. Located near Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, it was built across river Kaveri around 2000 years ago by then king Karikala Chola to divert water to the delta region to boost irrigation and also to avoid loss of crops to floods.
Downstream of Kallanai, the Kaveri river, among the most important rivers of south India, gives a poignant picture of large-scale encroachments and indiscriminate sand mining. Now, no water flows into the Bay of Bengal at Poompuhar, the celebrated coastal town where the river meets the sea.
“The subject of decades-long use and abuse by both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the river is in its deathbed,” lamented Swamimalai R. Vimalnathan, general secretary of the Thanjavur District Kaveri Farmers’ Protection Association. “In the future, we will not have the once perennial river to fight over. The water resources are receding and our once celebrated delta region is shrinking.”
Along with the imminent death of the river, Vimalnathan is pointing out another worrying factor that is threatening the very existence of this traditional ‘granary’ of Tamil Nadu. According to him, the delta region is shrinking fast with cultivable lands increasingly deteriorating into wastelands. To substantiate his claim, Vimal Nathan quoted findings of a study by S. Janakarajan, a retired faculty member with the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS).
Supported by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), the study had focused on change in land use patterns of the delta region in the last four decades. Based on his
Drying and polluted river
According to Janakarajan, the delta region witnessed a 13-fold increase in wastelands since 1971. The once-prosperous agricultural region is witnessing
“It’s no more a dynamic life-giving system that created and promoted civilisations. The Kaveri Water Disputes Tribunal and the governments in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are considering the river as a mere water channel. The water wars between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu would end sooner or later as the river dries,” said Kaveri S. Dhanapalan, president of
Tamil Nadu is blessed with 416 km of the 800 km long Kaveri and most parts of the river are running through the delta region. But even the available water remains extremely contaminated causing irreparable damage to both soil and agriculture.
Chemical factories located in the close vicinity of the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur have been identified as major polluters of the river. Mass fish mortality is reported from the delta region regularly. In the downstream region, tens of small- and medium-scale chemical industries continue to discharge their effluents through natural drains and engineered canals into the Kaveri. A water-guzzling coal-fired thermal power plant at Mettur is also contributing to the present sorry state of affairs in Kaveri. The plant has permission to draw 184 million litres per day (MLD) of river water. Coal ash from the plant is often dumped up on a hill, from where it finds its way back to the river.
River Bhavani, a major tributary of the Kaveri joins it in Erode. It brings with it effluents from
“Now our agriculture is at the mercy of monsoon. The survival concerns are turning more intense than ever before,” said Dhanapalan. The shrinking delta and its after-effects are now visible across Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, a part of Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu and Karaikal region of Puducherry Union Territory.
Agriculture in peril
While paddy cultivation is facing troubles, crops such as cotton, pulses, sugarcane, banana and vegetables are making significant inroads into the delta region.
In the tail-end areas of the delta, paddy cultivation has turned into a gamble because of salinity, flooding and scarcity of water.
“The delta districts contribute a substantial portion of Tamil Nadu’s foodgrain requirement and any threat to the cropping pattern would destabilise the food security. On another level, the grim situation has started affecting the livelihood resources of the thousands of farmers and farm workers,” said farmers’ leader Mannargudi S. Ranganathan, who exhorts for movement to save the delta.
Interestingly, there is a considerable increase
According to Janakarajan, 72
More dams, less sediment
While the delta is facing
Due to seawater ingress, the coastal portion of the delta region is witnessing a substantial rise in shrimp farming, which is detrimental to agricultural practice. Periodic storm surges in the delta are also contributing to the frightening situation.
“We need to build resilience in the face of complete destruction. Government and scientific experts are bound to formulate and implement solutions. The worsening economic vulnerability of the delta farmer itself is a clear indication of the sorry state of affairs. As the region accounting for 30
With the union government
Like in the case of all other rivers, Kaveri also requires enhanced supply and it can be achieved by preventing pollution. The river’s catchments, banks and riverbeds have to be conserved and restored. Efforts are also needed to replace water-intensive agriculture and industrial practices which presently killing the river.
From Kaveri to Ganga
In the past couple of years, farmers from the Kaveri delta have been trying desperately to bring their issues into national attention. In March 2018, farmers from the delta had rolled on to the scorching streets of Delhi with partly shaven heads and
During this election
According to Ayyakannu, 110 other farmers from the drought-hit delta region will also contest against the Prime Minister in Varanasi, stressing the need for governmental support to make farming activities profitable. “If the Prime Minister assures steps to solve the prevailing agrarian crisis before the elections, we all would withdraw from the contest. Otherwise, we would contest and highlight the crisis being faced by the farmers of
Meanwhile, the
Source: Manga Bay, India