The Karnataka government displayed tact and acumen in the Cauvery dispute by involving all parties in the consultation process. This prevented the opposition and other chauvinistic actors from deriving political mileage. With the State government tacitly supporting the two bandhs called last week, it was pretty clear that there would be no nasty law and order situation.

However, both States have stopped short of looking at long-term solutions. The regulatory bodies concerned must push in this direction. Besides encouraging a shift away from paddy and sugarcane in deficit years, there must be a conversation around urban water demands. It is absurd that Karnataka should consider the Mekedatu reservoir project as a solution to the drinking water needs of Bengaluru. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science, according to reports, have estimated that the project will submerge over 50 sq km of forests, which during the monsoon helps in the recharge of 80-100 thousand million cubic feet (TMC ft) of water. This is more than planned reservoir capacity of 67 TMC ft.

If this betrays a lack of ecological sense, an uncritical view of Bengaluru’s needs only affirms the same. The city, according to the IISc researchers, gets 750-850 mm of rainfall annually, which can meet most of its water needs of 18 TMC ft annually. The rest can be met through water harvesting and restoration of lakes.

It is a scandal that Bengaluru should be making growing demands on the Cauvery by pumping up water and consuming power, after destroying its rich ecosystem of lakes and tanks. The lakes would in earlier years have fed into the Arkavathy and Vrishabawathy rivers, the waters of which join the Cauvery.

These systems have been destroyed by reckless growth driven by real estate mafias, while the two rivers are open sewers. Mekedatu should be off the table in arriving at any solution to water sharing.

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