A Sustainable Solution for the Kaveri Dispute
Images courtesy: River Cauvery 1, 2, from Wikipedia

A Sustainable Solution for the Kaveri Dispute

Sadhguru: Water is a resource that has to be managed. We have not really paid attention to this in the last few decades. There are subsidies that are supposed to promote water conservation but we have not really looked at how we can practice agriculture in a way that conserves water. In Tamil Nadu for instance, we are still largely flood irrigating, which is the cruelest way of using water. It is not good either for the land or for the crop itself. This practice was used in the past but there are more efficient ways to practice agriculture today. If you put so much water in one place, the soil gets leached and all the bio-activity in the soil is reduced. The plant may look green, but it suffers because of this in many ways.

If we change this, Tamil Nadu can manage its water situation by itself. Apart from this, we need to pay more attention to the Kaveri itself. I have rafted down the Kaveri from Bhagamandala to the Krishna Raja Sagara dam and the Brindavan Gardens in Karnataka. That is over 160 kilometers. It took me around thirteen days on four truck tubes and twelve bamboos. I know this terrain very well. One thing that really stands out is that in this entire 160 kilometers, it is only in the first 30 to 35 kilometers that there is any forest vegetation. After that there is just agriculture. How will a river flow with this? We don’t have ice-fed rivers in southern India. These are forest-fed rivers. Unless there is forest, there will be no river after sometime. Our idea of a catchment area is that 35-kilometer valley. No, catchment should be all along the way.

Right now, we have given a proposal to Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh regarding the rivers in these states. For example, all along the river, for at least one kilometer on either side, wherever the land belongs to the government, we must do afforestation immediately. Wherever it belongs to a local farmer, the government must move from agriculture to horticulture. If you have to move a farmer from agriculture to horticulture, you have to subsidize the first five years for him till horticulture crops begin to yield. And once it comes to yield, you must incentivize private sector to set up allied industry to absorb these hundreds of kilometers of horticultural products.

If you show the farmer the economics of this move, that by planting trees and having horticultural crops he will earn more than he can by plowing the land, he will naturally take to it. If you ensure there is no plowing or fertilizer on either side for a minimum of a kilometer – if we can do more than a kilometer it will be great – in fifteen years’ time, the Kaveri will have at least ten to twenty percent more water flowing.

Someone recently showed me a statistic that says that on average, all rivers in India are depleting by eight percent per year. This means in another sixteen to twenty years, all our rivers – which have been perennial for millions of years – will become seasonal. Already, the Kaveri does not touch the ocean two to three months in a year. This is a disaster unfolding in this country.

The very word “India” comes from the river Indus. We are a river civilization. We have grown on the river banks. Today, all our rivers are in danger. Instead of fighting against each other, we have to look at how to revive these rivers. Otherwise, in a few years we won’t be drinking from bottles, we will be bathing from bottles. Half the nation is already in a position where they don’t start their day with a bath because there is no water. In a few years, we will be in a place where we can only bathe once in ten days. The legacy we are leaving our children is such that no matter what you have, you will not be able to live well – unless nature does some serious surgical correction. The choice we have is to consciously correct this or let nature do it. If nature does it, it will do it in a very cruel way.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Posted in Master's words, Isha.org

Pumping river water to towns and cities far removed from the river bank should be reduced. These settlements should be self-sustaining instead of depraving a river that is hundreds of kilometers away.

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Indu Nagar

Investment Banking Professional

8y

True Sir , we are doing it by planting 1000 - 2000 trees in our nearby villages but the movement we require should be supported by mass & most importantly by Government . Kindly someone convey it to Modi Sir , as far as economy is concern we are doing well for last 70 years .. since he is in power now and have guts to take bold decisions , then forget about money issues .. Money will take its own shape ..if really he wanted to serve Bharat , if he really mean it as Bharat maa , continue with Swachch Bharat abhiyaaan , do something to save our nature .. our rivers .. let people know more about values of all these factors in life .. let he include all these information in syllabus . Let our children rich /poor grow up with proper education , proper health ... Do something Constructive Boss .. We are 130 cr. No one can dare to eye on us .. so don't waste time in Armaments & other less productive issues .. let them go side by side .. Educate people / uplift them morally ..let their concepts be clear about our nature /about humanity /religion / God .. Come up with some big projects in education / healthcare / Infrastructure .. Economy itself will run . Also , ask him to take advise from Sadhguru on few issues for clarity in concepts ...

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Palani krishnan

Production & Operations Management Professional, working in the reputed manufacturing industries

8y

Very nice !!

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