KRISHNA INTERRUPTED: The chief minister on his abbreviated walkathon; Jayalalithaa at the all-party meeting on the issue

No prophet is honoured in his own country. Nobody will understand this biblical adage better than Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna. The padyatra he launched last week-whose aim, cynics say, was to "raise Krishna consciousness" among the people-had to be called off on October 9, ironically when it was passing through his home district of Mandya. Krishna's decision followed pressure from local farmers who felt that the "peace walk" would only aggravate tension in the district that has virtually been shut down for nearly a month over the Cauvery water issue.

Thanks to a September 3 directive by the Supreme Court as well as a September 8 Cauvery River Authority (CRA) decision, Krishna has been under pressure to release water from the Cauvery river to Tamil Nadu. When Krishna partially obeyed the directive on September 3, farmers took to the streets and shut down large parts of Mandya and Mysore districts.

In 1991, when the two states wrangled over the Cauvery, Bangalore burnt for three days and more than 25 died in clashes. This time, when matters threatened to get out of hand, Krishna refused to release water, saying there was none to spare.

Of the 17 lakh people of Mandya, four lakh are farmers, most being marginal cultivators who own less than a hectare. There is not enough water to irrigate the standing crops on a lakh hectare each of sugarcane and paddy, both of which consume a lot of water. Karnataka requires at least 32 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) water in its four dams to salvage its standing crops but the water levels at the Krishnarajasagar and Kabini dams have been at their lowest in 25 years, say officials. In the absence of rain, the water level at Kabini was expected to fall below the sluice gates by the end of October. But on October 10, heavy rain lashed many parts of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, especially the Cauvery delta. The meteorological office predicts the rains will continue for a few days. That should help defuse the friction. As Krishna said: "I have repeatedly said that only Mother Nature can apply a soothing balm to the tension between the two states." Presumably taking the rains as a good omen, he promptly resumed his padayatra.

KARNATAKA'S CASE « In the worst affected Mandya district, most of the victims are marginal farmers. « There is not enough water to irrigate the standing crops on almost two lakh hectares of paddy and sugarcane. « Water levels at the KR Sagar and Kabini dams are the lowest in the past 25 years, but last week's rains are expected to bring relief. « The normal yield from four lakh acres for the June to September cultivation is about Rs 500 crore but this time only 60,000 acres were cultivated. « The August to January Samba crop used to be cultivated on eight lakh acres, with a yield of 18 lakh tonnes worth Rs 1,000 crore. Actual cultivation this year: 40,000 acres.

A lawyer by training, the 71-year-old Krishna understands the implications of not fulfilling Supreme Court directives. "But how can I release water when it is not there?" Krishna told India Today as his padyatra passed through Kengeri village. He may have a point. Legal experts say the chief minister's actions may not amount to contempt of court. Says former Karnataka High Court judge Justice H.G. Balakrishna: "This is nothing but an instruction to the state Government to give effect to the order of the CRA. It is not an independent order of the apex court or an exhortation to implement the order."

As for the September 8 CRA order by Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, Balakrishna says, "It is not a unilateral or an absolute order. It is a conditional order. You have to keep in view the inflows and storages in the four Karnataka reservoirs. If you don't have the necessary water, the question of release does not arise ... Then no contempt is committed." The chief justice is scheduled to hear the contempt of court petitions that Tamil Nadu filed against Krishna on October 24.

The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the Cauvery Monitoring Committee (CMC) report, which said Karnataka's reservoirs had 43 TMC of water, while Tamil Nadu's reservoirs had 13 TMC. It also said an expected crop area of 4.5 lakh hectares in Tamil Nadu needed 63 TMC to transplant the samba (August-January) crop. Even if Karnataka released all the water in its reservoirs, it would not be enough for Tamil Nadu's needs.

FILMI ANGLE: Rajnikant's effigies were burnt when he did not join the agitation

Meanwhile, protests have become the order of the day in both states. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said Krishna's stand was "a brazen assault on the rule of law, democratic traditions and federalism, making a mockery of our Constitution." She wants the prime minister to issue a direction to Karnataka under Article 256 to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court order and, if needed, initiate action under Article 365.

The Tamil film industry, never far from the state's politics, has pitched in. A proposed protest at Neyveli on October 12 demanding stoppage of power supply to Karnataka came in for severe criticism from superstar Rajnikant, the hottest hero in Tamil filmdom but originally a Kannadiga. He later patched up with the actors' and directors' associations on October 9 but said he would not participate in the protest. Instead, he would observe a separate fast in Chennai.

Even as political tongue-wagging goes on, the state of farmers in the Cauvery delta remains pathetic. The CMC, which toured the delta in early October, had observed that Tamil Nadu is in the grip of a severe drought. The Kuruvai (June to September) crop has failed and more than 50 per cent of the samba crop faces the threat of withering.

Says Cauvery Delta Farmers' Association leader S. Ranganathan: "Paddy has been grown as a mono crop in the Cauvery delta for more than 1,200 years and is heavily dependent on water. If at all a state has to change the cropping pattern, Karnataka has to. I am asked why Cauvery farmers are not agitating like Karnataka farmers. Our farmers are struggling to protect their failing crops." In Karnataka, he quips, they have harvested their crops and found time to protest.

-with Arun Ram