Kannada organisations criticise Maharashtra decision to stop water release from Rajapur Barrage

Kannada organizations have criticised Maharashtra government’s decision to stop water release into the Krishna river course from the Rajapur Barrage.

“The barrage is nearly full due to the recent rainfall, but Maharashtra has closed the gates of the barrage hoping to collect more water rather than release it to Karnataka. This is highly condemnable,” convenor of Kannada organizations Ashok Chandaragi has said, in a letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

“This can lead to severe problems later. In 2019, Maharashtra refused to release water into the river course between January and June. However, from June to August, the river basin received heavy rain and Maharashtra suddenly released over eight lakh cusecs of water to Karnataka. This led to floods in Belagavi and Bagalkot districts,” he said.

“In a letter to the government, we suggested that Karnataka collect ₹35,000 crore as a flood loss relief from the Maharashtra government. Now, the Karnataka government should warn the Maharashtra government to see that such an eventuality does not arise in the future,” he said.

All these years, Karnataka has been paying for the Krishna water released by Maharashtra to address drinking water scarcity in North Karnataka districts of Belagavi, Bagalkot, Vijayapura, Raichur and Kalaburagi. However, since 2016, Maharashtra has been suggesting a water swap treaty between the two States, in place of this trade, the letter said.

Maharashtra has maintained that in place of the water released, Karnataka should release water to Jatt and surrounding areas in Maharashtra from the Tubachi-Babaleshwar Lift Irrigation Scheme in Vijayapura, the letter said.

In a memorandum submitted recently, farmers from Jatt have urged the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister to release Krishna water. Karnataka irrigation officials have estimated that around ₹500 crore is required to create infrastructure for this purpose, the letter said.

However, Maharashtra is neither willing to pay for the project nor take up the construction itself. This has resulted in a stalemate. The two States should resolve this stalemate immediately, the letter said.