TIRUCHY: All roads in the delta region wore a deserted look and almost all shops were shut as the grain bowl of Tamil Nadu observed a state bandh on Thursday over the Cauvery issue. But what does it mean to the man on the street?Almost everyone in this region feels let down by the Centre’s delay in constituting the Cauvery Management Board (CMB). “If the Central government had doubts about the nature of the ‘scheme’ specified by the Supreme Court in its Feb 16 verdict, it should have immediately sought clarification. Instead, it chose to file a clarification petition only on the last day of the six-week deadline. This shows the Centre’s intention to favour Karnataka, in view of the forthcoming Assembly election there,” said Koothalingam of Pallathur in Thanjavur district.
Koothalingam does not believe the Centre would constitute the board even after the Karnataka elections since the BJP has no presence in the delta region. That’s the common refrain one gets to hear about this highly politicised slugfest. The trust deficit is evident even among traders. For example, Veeramani, who runs a footwear shop at Meensuruti, said, “Lower Anicut is nearby. If there is no water for agriculture, how would farmers get income? If they do not have money, how do we do business? So I shut my shop in support of the demand.”
Apart from Cauvery, people are exercised about the hydrocarbon project the Centre has been trying to push through.
Farmers, traders and the members of the public also said that the non-compliance of the Supreme Court order by the Centre on the Cauvery issue was the latest of what they perceive as a series of ‘injustices’ meted out to the state and its farmers through the implementation of projects like hydrocarbon and methane extractions in the agricultural zone.
They fear that agriculture lands would disappear over a period of time — an apprehension that grows exponentially by the day, thanks to social media posts and memes.J Senthil Babu a farmer from Keelaiyur Village near Sembanarkoil of Nagapattinam, has completely lost hopes on the Centre forming the Cauvery Management Board.Senthil’s uncle Krishnamoorthy and brother Suresh died following the crop failure when drought hit the district.He said “I have lost two lives from my family to the drought. But this kind of irreparable losses are not shaking the conscience of the central government. BJP is having grounds in Karnataka but not in Tamil Nadu. So it will not initiate steps to form the CMB. Instead of that, the government is executing oil and gas extraction projects in the delta region to destruct the agriculture activities.”
Farmers’ livelihoods, their daughters marriages, their children’s education, their health care expenditure are all directly associated with Cauvery-sourced agriculture. “Our children’s future depends on Cauvery. If we want to marry off our daughter in a good family, we need jewels. If we want to admit our children in a good college, we need money. So if Cauvery is uncertain, our life will be uncertain,” said Ravikumar of Anaikkarai.However, some in the region have given up hope like RK Ramalingam who owns a 1-acre farm in Ayankurinjiapadi and carries out several research activities pertaining to sesame cultivation, who decided not to partake in the protests. “The problem of Cauvery has been going for ages and the parties here have been playing politics over it with no concrete solution brought over the issue,” he said.
He further added that the politics here has not kept the farmers in the state united and the central government is also using it to its advantage.By desilting lakes and rivers in the state with proper tree planting measures, at least some damage may be mitigated, he believed. S Jayavel of Kuruvampanpettai along the Kullanchavadi region echoed similar statements citing the recent Mumbai incident where farmers united for a cause.
He added that the Centre is not doing much for agriculturists, who are one of the major contributors to the economy. The problem can be solved but with the politicians and with several vested interests playing their part, the entire Cauvery episode appears to be a never-ending issue.
(With inputs from M Manikandan and N Ramesh, Harish Murali)