Pipelines in place, but no water from Bhima River

VIJAYAPURA: The Bhima River flows tantalizingly close to about 40 villages in Karnataka on the border with Maharashtra, but the villages themselves get to use very little of this water. For example, the 30,000 inhabitants of

Chadchan in Indi Taluk

, about 65km from Vijayapura, have pipelines installed under the multi-village drinking water scheme, but for majority of the year, the pipes stay dry and residents are forced to rely on

borewell water

.


Locals say the issue was aggravated two decades ago when Karnataka and Maharashtra constructed four barrages each on either side of the border. But the Bhima River stops flowing in Karnataka if Maharashtra does not open its barrages — which is often the case.

Panchappa Kalburgi, chairman,

Bhima Nadi Neeru Rakshana Ryota Varga Samithi

, says both states have orphaned several villages spread over 89km along the banks of the Bhima. Panchappa and others had approached the Supreme Court two decades ago when Maharashtra allegedly began using more Bhima water than stipulated by a water tribunal.

Panchappa says because Maharashtra draws more water than alloted, Bhima in Karnataka runs dry from November onwards. He says since 1990, the river is dry even during the monsoon.

Although the Krishna Water Dispute Tribunal II directed Maharashtra to ensure 17TMC natural flow, the order has not been implemented since the gazette notification is pending. Panchappa says numerous villages on both sides of the border are suffering due to the callous attitude of the two state governments.

Despite this bleak situation, the Karnataka government is implementing Rs 480-crore lift irrigation project. Said one local: “If Maharashtra releases water as per the tribunal verdict, there would be less migration and more scope to grow commercial crops.” The situation is so grave that Borihalla, a tributary of the Bhima River which flowed through Chadchan has been dry for a decade even during the monsoon.