Farmers in Karnataka’s Mandya district and Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta are facing a severe water shortage as the Cauvery water dispute intensifies. Low monsoon rains, dwindling reservoir levels and competing demands for irrigation, drinking water and legal obligations have left paddy and sugarcane growers in distress.
Key Developments (August 2026)
- Farmers like Marilingaiah in Kuntanahalli have raised a nursery of paddy seedlings on two acres but await water from the Visvesvaraya canal. Without water in the next 7‑10 days, they risk losing ₹8,000 spent on the nursery.
- The Cauvery Irrigation Advisory Committee approved only four rotational cycles this season, limiting releases to about 15 days on‑off.
- Karnataka asked the CWMA to cut its daily release to Tamil Nadu from 12,000 to 10,000 cusecs, citing drinking‑water shortages.
- The state plans to divert an extra 6 TMC of water from the KRS to the Stage‑VI drinking water project for Bengaluru.
- In Tamil Nadu, the Mettur dam remains closed; water level is about 85 ft, far below the 100 ft threshold required for release, leaving the delta’s paddy fields barren.
Important Facts
• KRS reservoir rose to 109 ft in early August after a brief monsoon surge but has since stalled.
• Karnataka’s rotational release plan allows water for only about 15 days at a time, insufficient for water‑intensive crops like paddy and sugarcane.
• Tamil Nadu’s Cauvery delta, normally cultivating 5.3 lakh acres of paddy in the Kuruvai season, has seen the area fall to 4.5 lakh acres this year.
• Farmers have taken interest‑free loans from co‑ops and high‑interest micro‑finance credit; many fear default.
Exam Relevance
The episode illustrates several cor