Rivers in Karnataka are known to create political problems. Karnataka is known for its long-standing Kaveri water issue with Tamil Nadu. In 2018 with the elections around the corner, a new issue has cropped up the Mahadayi water issue. The Karnataka elections are to take place during April-May 2018 and so far some interesting results have come off the Congress-BJP rivalry in the state, particularly at party rallies. On the account of this issue, centered around the Mahadayi river shared by Karnataka and Goa, a bandh has been declared on the 25th of January in Karnataka, following which another bandh will take place in Bengaluru on 4th February.
The bandh has been primarily called on by pro-Kannada organizations in the state and the farmers over the construction of Kalasa-banduri dam project. It seeks to divert water from Goa into Karnataka, approximately 7.56 tmcft of water. This implies that the crisis isn’t just about Karnataka and its brutal politics, it brings Goa into the picture as well. Goa believes that this will affect the water needs of the people in the state, and rightly so. But if this project is to be carried forward it is supposed to improve the water supply in the Hubli-Dharwad region of Northern Karnataka.
The Mahadayi Politics:
Interestingly, the bandh on 4th February coincides with Narendra Modi’s visit to Karnataka for BJP’s Parivarthana rally in Bengaluru. The bandh is backed by members of KCVP like Vatal Nagaraj who hope to seek Modi’s help in resolving the issue. There have been different tellings of the story, wherein each newspaper has differed.
All that is known to us as of now is that there is a bandh and it is supported by pro-Kannada factions and BJP. Whether the factions are upset with Nagaraj for not taking them into confidence before the bandh was declared or that current Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah is offended that Goa’s chief minister Manohar Parrikar contacted BJP’s B.S. Yeddyurappa before the ‘Chief Minister of State’ doesn’t really matter here. One must note the petty politics where BJP is calling the bandh a Congress-initiated ploy to interrupt their planned rallies only to be denied by Congress.
The issue is the river and what it means to the people living on both sides of it. The politics take away from the matter at hand. This is an issue that goes back to 2002 and is only now getting publicity considering the elections are around the corner. It not only speaks volumes about the issues our country faces but also of how politics plays out at the state level. It’s petty, feisty and hard to manage. How does the voter vote in this situation? That is the real question that a citizen of Karnataka must ask.