When politicians have their way, you don’t need a river to have a riparian dispute; even a stream will do. Make that a muddy stream, which is hardly known outside Kolar district and flows only for a few days during monsoons. But with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka determined to keep every trickle of it, Chitravati has catapulted into national limelight.The decision of a technical team of the Central Water Commission to visit Andhra Pradesh first, though it was invited by Karnataka, has further muddied the waters.First Andhra Pradesh raised objection to the construction of a minor barrage by Karnataka across the Chitravati at Paragodu village in Bagepalli taluk to provide drinking water to 82 villages around it. CM Naidu approached Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, who telephoned Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna. It was then that the latter sought the visit of a Central Water Commission team.However, showing his political compulsions — the ruling TDP in Andhra is an ally of the NDA — the PM chose to give Andhra the first hearing and to send the team there first.According to experts, Karnataka’s stand is more valid as what it needs is drinking water, unlike Andhra which is worried that the barrage will affect recharging of the irrigation wells in its Anantapur and Chittoor districts.
