Transcription
Friends, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has made a big announcement. He has announced a mega project. He has announced support for a mega project to conserve water by linking rivers instead of letting them flow into the sea. You know, there is a discussion about the water shortage this time. There is a discussion about what to do. Farmers are worried. At such a time, the Chief Minister has given a statement of full support for the central government's ambitious Godavari Krishna Cauvery river linking project. Full support for this important river linking project which has been delayed for a long time. So, what is this Godavari Krishna Cauvery river linking project? What is its objective? What are the benefits for our state? Let's look at everything. You are watching Masmag Channel, I am Amar Prasad. What the Chief Minister has said now is that while talking about the water shortage in Karnataka, the Chief Minister spoke about the Godavari Krishna Cauvery river linking. He said that Karnataka is ready to start this project and has urged the central government not to delay it. D.K. has said that this river linking project will cost a whopping one lakh crore rupees. The central government will bear the main cost, and the state governments within its scope should also contribute. Karnataka government will also contribute 10% of the money, and we are ready for that, said D.K. Shivakumar. What is this project? To understand this project, we first need to understand India's water distribution. In India, most of the rain occurs during the monsoon. However, this rainwater is not distributed equally in India. Some river basins receive a lot of water every year, while some river basins face a severe water shortage every year. To correct this imbalance, the central government officially launched the National River Linking Project (NRLP) in 1980. By the way, the concept of river linking was proposed in the 19th century by British Army officer General Sir Arthur Thomas Cotton. Later, K.L. Rao, who was the Union Minister for Irrigation, revived it. Then it was officially launched. In 1982, the National Water Development Agency was also established. Under this, there are 30 river linking projects. Among these, only the Ken Betwa Link Project, which involves Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, has reached the implementation stage. That is, the work is progressing rapidly, and the work has started. The remaining projects are still in the planning and DPR stage. Among these is the Godavari Krishna Cauvery river linking project. The Godavari River is the second longest river in India. During the monsoon, a lot of water flows in this river. Every year, about 33,397 TMC of Godavari water flows into the Bay of Bengal without being used properly. At the same time, areas dependent on the Krishna, Pennar, and Cauvery rivers always face water scarcity. The demand for water for agriculture, cities, and industries is high in the Krishna river basin. The Pennar river basin also faces drought every year. The Cauvery river basin is receiving less rainfall. The Kolar monitoring station revealed that between 1951 and 2012, the river flow in Cauvery decreased by 28%. This means that one-third of the water has decreased. Currently, about 740 TMC of water flows in Cauvery annually. Therefore, this imbalance, where water is wasted in some places and flows into the sea from the large Godavari river, and there is less water in other rivers, is being addressed by the Godavari Krishna Cauvery linking project. The objective of this project is to create a long-term source of drinking and irrigation water for the drought-prone areas in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. How will the water come? Let's come to the main point now. We will explain how the water will be diverted. Before understanding that, we need to understand the natural flow of these rivers. How is their natural flow now? Then let's see how they will be linked. First, look at the Godavari River. It originates at Trimbakeshwar near Nashik in Maharashtra. Then it flows eastward for about 1465 kilometers and joins the Bay of Bengal through the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. In between, it also flows through Maharashtra and Telangana. The Krishna River also originates in the Western Ghats near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. Then it flows through Karnataka and Telangana and finally merges with the sea through the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh. In between, the Tungabhadra River, which originates and flows in our Malnad region, becomes Tungabhadra. Then the Tungabhadra does not directly join the sea. Tungabhadra meets the Krishna River in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. This place is called Sangameswaram. From there, Tungabhadra merges with the Krishna River. From there onwards, it is called the Krishna River. And our Cauvery River originates at Talakaveri in Kodagu. Then it flows through Tamil Nadu for a total of 800 kilometers and joins the sea through the Mayiladuthurai district of Tamil Nadu. So, you now have a picture of which river flows where and how. Note here that we are mainly concerned with two river basins: one is the river basin around the Tungabhadra River that connects to the Krishna, and the other is the Cauvery river basin. So, now we need to see how the rivers will be linked. How will they be connected now? First, the Godavari flowing east, then the Krishna flowing south, and the Cauvery flowing south. How these three east-flowing rivers will be connected, let's see now. First, in this river linking project, the Godavari River, which flows east and joins the Bay of Bengal, will have a link created in the middle. It will be diverted slightly south. The water will be diverted from the starting point near the Godavari River at Pichampalli. We will tell you now that the entire river will not be diverted. The natural flow of the river will continue to the sea, but extra water will be sent down. How? When needed, from Godavari, look, from Pichampalli, here it is diverted downwards. Here, it is connected to the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam on the border of Telangana and Chhattisgarh. The water will be diverted to the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam in the border of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. There will be hills and mountains in between, so pumping stations will have to be built here and there. The water will be conveyed through large canals and tunnels and finally reach the Godavari Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. It is understood that the water from Godavari will reach here. It will not be a direct connection like a large river. The water will be conveyed and it will connect to the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam. It is mentioned in the DPR that about 247 TMC of water from Godavari will reach Nagarjuna Sagar Dam every year. Okay, next, the Nagarjuna Sagar Dam is built on the Krishna River, isn't it? Once the water reaches this dam, it will be released through different canals. This will reach the Somasila dam in Andhra Pradesh and then connect. Understood, friends? From Godavari at Pichampalli, it reaches Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, which is a dam built on the Krishna River. From there, it comes down and reaches the Somasila dam. This is a dam built on the Pennar River. Then, the third link starts from here. From Somasila dam, the Godavari water will continue to flow through another canal. This will directly connect to the water system of an old dam called Grand Anicut, built on the Cauvery River at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. The source of this dam is about 2000 years old and it has a large network of irrigation canals. Through the canals here, water flows to thousands of villages and agricultural lands. What is the benefit for Karnataka? As we told you at the beginning, the Godavari water will not be directly brought and added to our Cauvery River in Karnataka. Because Karnataka is not a direct beneficiary of this particular project. However, this project will also have an impact on the Krishna and Cauvery river basins, and the water will increase there. The water availability will increase in both the Krishna river basin, upstream and downstream, and the Cauvery river basin. Karnataka is also part of these two river basins. To be precise, in the Krishna river basin, it will benefit Belagavi, Bagalkote, Raichur, Vijayapura, and Yadgiri in North Karnataka. The Cauvery River originates in Kodagu and flows through Mysuru, Mandya, and Chamarajanagar before entering Tamil Nadu. Therefore, if the water increases in these two river basins, there will be more water availability for all the states and regions dependent on them. So, initially, it was proposed in the project DPR that Karnataka would be given 130 TMC of water. Later, the project DPR was revised, and the water allocation to Karnataka was reduced to only 15.99 TMC. Therefore, the Karnataka government has been raising its voice on this issue from the past, demanding more water. Even when D.K. Shivakumar was the Deputy Chief Minister in 2025, he demanded that Karnataka should be given at least 40-45 TMC of water from the Cauvery river basin, and an additional 5 TMC of water from the Krishna river basin, totaling about 40 to 50 TMC of water. If we get this much water, it will be a big benefit. If the Krishna river basin overflows with water, it will directly benefit our North Karnataka. It will be a support for drought-prone areas. It can help Vijayapura, Bagalkote, Belagavi, Raichur, Yadgiri, Kalaburagi, and Koppal. Water availability will increase even during drought times for agriculture and drinking, as more water can be stored in the dams of the Krishna river basin. Similarly, if the state gets its share of water from the Cauvery river basin, that water can be used in South Karnataka. It will directly benefit Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagara, Chamarajanagar, and some parts of Hassan and Tumkur. This is because more water flows to Tamil Nadu. They will have more water availability in Cauvery. When our water allocation in Cauvery increases, and we get the 40-45 TMC we are asking for, we will be able to save that much extra water. So, it's not just them who will benefit; some people will have reduced flood risk. Maharashtra experiences floods from Godavari repeatedly. If that extra water is diverted to these flood-prone areas during the monsoon, they will not have floods, and our farmers who are crying for water will get water. What are the challenges? This is a big project, friends. As already mentioned, it is a project of at least one lakh crore rupees, which states and the center have to undertake together. Even if the money is arranged, there is a need for coordination to resolve inter-state water disputes. There are differences of opinion between states regarding the availability of surplus water in Godavari. The states that release water are expressing concern that they may face water shortage for their drinking water, agriculture, and industries in the future. Therefore, before transferring water, legal agreements and approvals from tribunals are necessary between the states, otherwise, it will be delayed further. The more it is delayed, the more the cost will increase from one lakh crore to two lakh crore. New dams, canals, tunnels, and pumping stations, and power infrastructure will have to be built. There are environmental challenges. For this work, some forest land will have to be destroyed. Also, the natural flow of rivers will be affected to some extent. To build large canals, villages and agricultural lands will have to be acquired. Compensation will have to be given to thousands, even lakhs, of families. Resettlement arrangements will have to be made. The canals that will be constructed will pass through hills, mountains, and forest areas. In some sections, tunnels will have to be bored, and a lot of electricity will be needed to pump water upwards. There are technical challenges here as well. Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are involved in this project. Each state has different priorities. Therefore, achieving coordination here is a big challenge. After that, various clearances, approvals, court cases, and state agreements will all have to happen. Therefore, the timeline for completion is not yet fixed. However, D.K. Shivakumar has urged the central government, saying that we are ready to do it as soon as possible. He also said that he has spoken with the Chief Ministers of the concerned states. It is expected that talks have been held with Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy of Telangana. What do you think about this, friends? Please comment with your opinion on this project without fail. We have tried to explain this informative video with maps. You can share this with your friends and family so they can also get information about this project. And friends, finally, a quick reminder: you can consider becoming a member of our channel by clicking the 'Join' button below the video. Let's meet again and again. Namaskara.