While being confident of a good samba crop this year, the Cauvery Delta Farmers’ Welfare Association (CDFA) is pushing for a permanent solution to the perennial problem of the north east monsoon rain water running off into the sea.

While the bounty from south west monsoon is controlled by Karnataka as the major Cauvery catchment area is located in that State, north east monsoon benefits Tamil Nadu directly.

The Supreme Court on Monday was surprised by the Centre's apparent lack of engagement in resolving the dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over sharing of Cauvery waters in distress years desp

More than 5-year-old quarries banned in some districts

It may take a few months for authorities to open new sand quarries on the Cauvery-Coleroon river basin in the wake of the recent order of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. One of the decisions taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday was that sites for new quarries should be identified and approval from the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) secured.

Respond to TN plea for convening PM-headed Cauvery River Authority

The Supreme Court, while expressing displeasure at the lack of sensitivity on the part of the Centre on the Cauvery issue, has directed it to respond to Tamil Nadu’s plea for convening a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority, headed by the Prime Minister. When senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, insisted on a direction to Karnataka to release water, a Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur said it would pass orders after getting the responses of the Centre and that State, due in 10 days. Further hearing is posted to September 3.

Karnataka is expected to convey to the Supreme Court that it is keen on adhering to the water release formula prescribed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) and that the vagaries of monsoon has prevented it from sticking to the formula so far this year.

Tamil Nadu had approached the apex court seeking a direction for the release of nearly 25 tmcft of water, claiming it as the shortfall based on the distress water-sharing formula. The petition of the lower riparian State is coming up for hearing on Monday.

The Cauvery eco-system is in deep trouble with the current year being one of the worst drought years that the river has witnessed.

The delta region, known as ‘Marudha Nilam’, can no longer have that nomenclature as it is now shorn of Marudu trees, a native plant. The ‘minimum viable population’ (MVP) size of this tree has gone down and has become virtually an ‘endangered species’. Frequent loss of flows in the river over the past four decades has resulted in gradual degradation of the eco-system, laments K.V.Krishnamurthy, former Head of the Department of Botany, Bharathidasan University, considered an authority on the Cauvery’s flora and fauna.

BWSSB decides to waive road cutting charges for the first two months

The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) will begin sanctioning new water supply connections to the residents of the erstwhile city municipal council and town municipal council areas of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike by September-end. Bangalore Water Supply Minister S Suresh Kumar told reporters here on Tuesday that an estimated two lakh new connections will be sanctioned under the Cauvery water IV stage, II phase project, which will be commissioned this month end. The project will bring an additional 500 million litre per day (MLD) of Cauvery water to the City.

PWD had refurbished 15 shutters last year at a cost of Rs.2 cr.

The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned Rs.4.27 crore for repairing damaged shutters at the barrage across the Cauvery River at Upper Anicut (Mukkombu) near Tiruchi. Last year, the Public Works Department refurbished 15 of the 41 shutters on the barrage at a cost of Rs.2 crore, also sanctioned by the NABARD. The department had sought more funds for repairing the remaining shutters at an estimated cost of Rs.4.50 crore in the second phase.

The Supreme Court will hear on August 17 Tamil Nadu’s application for a direction to the Centre to convene a meeting of the Cauvery River Authority immediately to perform its statutory obligations and approve the distress sharing formula evolved by the Cauvery Monitoring Committee, in view of the distress situation in the State.

A Bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur fixed the date after senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, sought an early hearing. Initially Mr. Justice Jain told counsel it would not be possible for the court to direct the Prime Minister to convene the CRA. Mr. Vaidyanathan said that the court could make a request to the Prime Minister and cited past instances.

Life affected in many parts of State; standing crops damaged

Heavy rainfall has been lashing the entire Kodagu since Sunday paralysing normal life in the district even as major rivers Cauvery and Lakshmanateertha are in spate threatening to flood the low-lying areas. A few houses have collapsed. Water from the Lakshmanateertha and Kakkattu rivers have entered certain villages in Srimangala and T. Shettigeri areas and vast areas of paddy fields and coffee plantations have been inundated. Some people who were stranded at some houses were rescued by the river rafting team members in Srimangala on Monday. Inflow has increased into Irpu river at Irpu falls following heavy rainfall.