Arkavati is a large
mountain river in Karnataka, originating at Nandi Hills of Chikkaballapura
district. It is a tributary of the Kaveri, which it joins at 34 km south of
Kanakapura, called Sangama in Kannada, after flowing through ramanagara and
Kanakapura. Thanjavur
(Tanjore) the royal city of Cholas, Nayaks and Marathaas was at the height of
its glory during Rajaraja Chozha whose coronation took place exactly a thousand
years ago. Thanjavur was touted as ‘rice
bowl’ of Tamil Nadu ~ வேழம் உடைத்து மழைநாடு மேதக்க
சோழ வளநாடு சோறுடைத்து – the proverb [Chola vala
nadu sorudaithu] would mean - the
fertile land of Chola was rich in food.
The place sadly has lost
its glory and is mired in trouble. There
have been protests by farmers of the place with MDMK general secretary Vaiko
leading a group of cadres owing allegiance to various political affiliations
staging a rail roko in support of farmers’ protest against Karnataka
constructing reservoirs across the Cauvery. A strong police posse prevented Mr.
Vaiko and surging protesters from entering the junction premises by erecting
barricades. The protesters’ plan was to picket the Tiruchi-Chennai Egmore
Cholan Express but police thwarted them and the train quietly left the junction
unhindered.
Meantime, the Tamil Nadu
government has approached the Supreme Court after Karnataka Water Resources
Minister's reported speech that the state was planning to implement Mekedatu
project by constructing two dams across the Cauvery for which it need not get
Tamil Nadu's consent.
Mekedatu is a location along Kaveri in Kanakapura
Taluk. Sangama is the place where Arkavati merges with Kaveri. From this point,
about 3.5 kilometers downstream, the river Kaveri flows through a deep gorge so
narrow that one would think that a goat can leap across it ('Mekedatu' means
'goat's leap' in Kannada). It is not really so narrow but is connected to a hearsay story of a goat being chased by a tiger making a
desperate attempt to save its life by leaping from one side of the gorge and
managed to cross over the raging river below.
Responding to DMK president
M Karunanidhi’s demand for convening an Assembly session over the Mullaperiyar
dam and Mekedatu issues, Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said the state is
filing a case in the Supreme Court on Tuesday to stall dam construction by
Karnataka. There was no need to pass a resolution in the state Assembly to
increase the height of Mullaperiyar dam to store water in the light of Supreme
Court upholding Tamil Nadu's rights on water level, he said. Karnataka feels that they do not need
permission for executing something within their State.
Miles away in
China, in a place called Sichuan - China's Yalong River Hydropower Development
Company is constructing the 305-meter-high Jinping-1 Dam. Slated for completion
in early 2015, it will dwarf even the landmark Three Gorges Dam. Over 1,500
kilometers long, the Yalong River flows from the Tibetan Plateau to southern
China, its middle and lower reaches meandering through the narrow valleys of
Sichuan province before joining the mighty Yangtze River. It is there in
Sichuan that the dam is coming up. With
a 3,600 megawatt capacity, the Jinping-1 Dam costs approximately 54 billion
yuan ($8 billion). Set to profit from the project are not only its owners, but
also the German companies, including Siemens and Herrenknecht, that have
supplied technical know-how every step of the way from the initial excavations
to the power conversion process. The dam also serves as a flagship project for
Beijing, which is keen to boost alternative energy production.
Away from the
site, a growing population and increased
affluence is resulting in increased demand for clean drinking water. But with
China building dams, less water is crossing the borders to Southeast Asia. This
jeopardizes the water supply in these countries to such an extent that a small
country such as Myanmar, heavily dependent on Chinese investment, had to
suspend its own Myitsone Dam project, risking a cooling in its ties to China.
Water ….. and
construction of dams spells trouble for many at places !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
23.11.14 Photo and news of Sierens credit : ww.dw.de
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