Kabini swell in monsoon is bad sign for Wayanad, joy for TN & Karnataka

Kalpetta: Swollen rivers invoke gloomy forebodings for Wayanad residents. Hundreds of kilometres away, it's a sign of joy.

The late monsoon showers that replenished the Kabani catchment in Wayanad have not only revived rivers and reservoirs in Karnataka but also eased an emerging political flashpoint between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu over sharing the Cauvery waters.

Heavy rainfall during the last week of July and the first week of August filled the east-flowing rivers of Wayanad, particularly the Panamaram and Mananthavady rivers, the principal tributaries that form the Kabini. As inflows surged, the Beechanahalli Dam across the Kabini in Karnataka began releasing water downstream, significantly augmenting the flow of the Cauvery.

The development brought relief to Karnataka, where deficient rainfall had raised fears of drought and concerns over drinking water supplies and irrigation. The major cities of Mysuru and Bengaluru in Karnataka depend on the Cauvery for their drinking water needs. It also brought hope to farmers in Tamil Nadu's Cauvery delta, who depend on timely releases to cultivate the Kuruvai paddy crop.

Until the end of July, Wayanad itself had recorded nearly 50 per cent below-normal monsoon rainfall. The delayed rains had left rivers and reservoirs under stress across the Cauvery basin. The sudden spell of heavy rain, however, dramatically altered the situation.

The value of water
The contrast between the two regions is striking. When torrential rain lashes the Brahmagiri hills of Wayanad, people here worry about landslides, flash floods and overflowing rivers. Yet the same rain is eagerly awaited nearly 800 km downstream, where farmers in the Cauvery delta see it as the promise of a successful farming season.

This week, videos from the temple town of Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu went viral on social media, showing devotees welcoming the fresh flow of the Cauvery with flowers and prayers. Revered as Cauvery Amman, the river is worshipped as a life-giving goddess by farming communities across the delta.

The fresh flow was made possible after Karnataka increased releases from the Kabini reservoir following heavy inflows from Wayanad's catchments. The Kabini joins the Cauvery at Tirumakudalu Narasipura in Karnataka before the river continues its journey through Tamil Nadu to the Bay of Bengal.

Rain that cooled political tempers
Only days earlier, the atmosphere had been charged with political tension. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had planned to visit Bengaluru on August 3 for talks with Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on the long-standing Cauvery water-sharing dispute. The proposed meeting, the first between the Chief Ministers of the two states on the issue in nearly 14 years, was postponed amid heightened tensions and protests by Kannada organisations.

Karnataka had argued that deficient rainfall and low storage in its reservoirs made it difficult to release more water, while Tamil Nadu maintained that it was entitled to its share to save the Kuruvai crop in the Cauvery delta. The dispute has also been intensified by Tamil Nadu's opposition to Karnataka's proposed Mekedatu reservoir project, which it fears could reduce downstream flows.

The heavy rains in Wayanad and adjoining catchments transformed the situation almost overnight. With the Kabini reservoir filling rapidly, Karnataka increased releases into the Cauvery, easing immediate concerns over water availability and reducing tensions between the two neighbouring states.

A lesson from our neighbours
E J James, former Director of the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM), Kozhikode, said both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu understand the value of every drop of water.

"Both states have dedicated teams of officials who vigorously protect their water interests. They receive water with devotion, preserve it like a treasure and use it with great care. In Kerala, we often treat rainwater as something to be drained away from the hills as quickly as possible," he told Onmanorama.

Delayed monsoon, timely relief
According to the Hume Centre for Ecology and Wildlife Biology (HUMES), which operates an extensive network of automatic weather stations across Wayanad, the district received an average of 199 mm of rainfall between July 27 and July 31. This accounted for nearly 25 per cent of the total 802 mm rainfall recorded during June and July.

HUMES Director C K Vishnudas said the rainfall was concentrated mainly over Wayanad's mountainous regions. "Although the high-altitude areas received substantial rainfall during the past few days, many other parts of the district continued to record comparatively low precipitation. As a result, cumulative rainfall for June and July remains nearly 50 per cent below normal," he said.

Fortunately for the Cauvery basin, the heaviest rainfall occurred over the Brahmagiri hills, the principal catchment of the Kabini. The increased inflow filled the Beechanahalli reservoir, whose releases subsequently replenished the Cauvery system.

The improved storage also benefited the Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Mysuru and parts of Bengaluru besides irrigating vast agricultural areas in the Mandya region.

The higher discharge also revived the famous Hogenakkal Falls, where the Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu. Tourists who had seen only a thin stream in recent weeks returned to witness the roaring waterfalls after the increased releases from Karnataka.

Officials of Tamil Nadu's Water Resources Department reported a sharp increase in inflows at Biligundlu and Hogenakkal following the release of water from Karnataka's reservoirs. The Cauvery's discharge touched 27,000 cusecs on Monday. At Biligundlu on the Karnataka–Tamil Nadu border, the flow rose from less than 500 cusecs the previous day to over 1,000 cusecs on the morning of August 4, reaching about 9,000 cusecs by evening.