The Kaveri is one of the major Indian rivers flowing through the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The Kaveri River rises at Talakaveri in the Brahmagiri range in the Western Ghats, Kodagu district of the state of Karnataka, at an elevation of 1,341 m above mean sea level and flows for about 800 km before its outfall into the Bay of Bengal. It reaches the sea in Poompuhar, in Mayiladuthurai district. It is the third largest river – after Godavari and Krishna – in southern India, and the largest in the state of Tamil Nadu, which, on its course, bisects the state into north and south. In ancient Tamil literature, the river was also called Ponni.
Srirangam is a neighbourhood in the city of Tiruchirappalli in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A river island, Srirangam is bounded by the Kaveri River on one side and its distributary Kollidam on the other side. Considered as the first among the 108 Divya Desams, a group of Vishnu temples, it is famous for the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, the largest temple complex in India and the biggest functioning Hindu temple in the world. Srirangam is also home to a significant population of Sri Vaishnavas.
The Noyyal River is a small river in Western Tamil Nadu, and a tributary of Kaveri River. It rises from the Vellingiri hills in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, very closer in proximity to Kerala border, and flows through many villages and the cities of Coimbatore, and Tirupur. Then finally, the river drains into the Kaveri River at Noyyal, a village in Karur district named after the river itself. The river's basin is 180 km (110 mi) long and 25 km (16 mi) wide and covers a total area of 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi). Cultivated land in the basin amounts to 1,800 km2 (690 sq mi) while the population density is 120 people per km² (311/mi²) in the countryside, and 1000 people per km² (2590/mi²) in the cities. The area is known for its scanty rainfall and the development of the Noyyal River Tanks System to hold any overflow from the rains plus the water of the Northeast and Southwest monsoon season was ecologically important. Kausika river, which originates along the northern side of Coimbatore district in the Western Ghats along with its consequent streams, lake and pond systems is an important tributory of the river. The 173 km (107 mi) long tributary of the Kaveri River filled 32 tanks. These interconnecting tanks held the water flowing from the Noyyal.
The Kollidam is a river in southeastern India. The Kollidam is the northern distributary of the Kaveri River as it flows through the delta of Thanjavur. It splits from the main branch of the Kaveri River at the island of Srirangam and flows eastward into the Bay of Bengal. The distribution system in Kollidam lies at Lower Anaicut which is an island of river Kollidam.
Kallanai is an ancient dam built by Karikala of Chola dynasty in 150 CE. It is built across the Kaveri river flowing from Tiruchirapalli District to Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. The dam is located in Thanjavur district, 15 km from Tiruchirapalli and 45 km from Tanjavur. It is the fourth oldest water-diversion or water-regulator structure in the world and the oldest in India that is still in use. Because of its spectacular architecture, it is one of the prime tourist spots in Tamil Nadu.
Stanley Reservoir located in Salem District of Tamil Nadu is one of largest fishing reservoirs in South India. It was completed in 1934 and was named after Lieutenant Colonel Sir George Frederick Stanley GCSI GCIE CMG, who served as the Governor of Madras from 1929 to 1934. Its main source of water is the River Kaveri (Cauvery). Three minor tributaries – Palar, Chennar and Thoppar – enter the Kaveri on its course above Stanley Reservoir. The water is retained by the Mettur Dam, Tamil Nadu.
The Mettur Dam is one of the largest dams in India and also the largest in Tamil Nadu, located across the river Kaveri where it enters the plains. Built in 1934, it took 9 years to complete. Maximum height and width of the dam are 214 and 171 feet, respectively. The dam receives inflows from its own catchment area, Kabini Dam and Krishna Raja Sagara Dams located in Karnataka. There is a park at the base of the dam called Ellis Park maintained by the Tamil Nadu Public Works Department. It provides irrigation and drinking water facilities for more than 12 districts of Tamil Nadu and hence is revered as the life and livelihood-giving asset of Tamil Nadu.
The Sriram Sagar Project is also known as the Pochampadu Project is an Indian flood-flow project on the Godavari. The Project is located in Nizamabad district, 3 km away from National Highway 44. It has been described by The Hindu as a "lifeline for a large part of Telangana".
The sharing of waters of the Kaveri River has been the source of a serious conflict between the two Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. The genesis of this conflict rests in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the Madras Presidency and Kingdom of Mysore. The 802 kilometres (498 mi) Kaveri river has 44,000 km2 basin area in Tamil Nadu and 32,000 km2 basin area in Karnataka. The inflow from Karnataka is 425 TMCft whereas that from Tamil Nadu is 252 TMCft.
Government of India constituted a common tribunal on 10 April 1969 to adjudicate the river water utilization disputes among the river basin states of Krishna and Godavari rivers under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act – 1956. The common tribunal was headed by Sri RS Bachawat as its chairman with Sri DM Bhandari and Sri DM Sen as its members. Krishna river basin states Maharashtra, Karnataka and old Andhra Pradesh insisted on the quicker verdict as it had become more expedient for the construction of irrigation projects in Krishna basin. So the proceedings of Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT) were taken up first separately and its final verdict was submitted to GoI on 27 May 1976.
Veeranam Lake is located 14 km (8.7 mi) SSW in Cuddalore district in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India 1 km from Kattumannarkoil. It is located 235 km (146 mi) from Chennai, India. It is one of the water reservoirs from where water is supplied to Chennai city. The lake has a capacity to store about 1,465 mcft of water. Though the level in the Veeranam lake has dipped to 323 million cubic feet (mcft), the same amount of 180 mld was being drawn for supply to Chennai City.
The Hogenakkal Water Dispute is a conflict between the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the implementation of Hogenakkal Integrated Drinking Water Project, whose foundation stone was laid in February 2008. The Rs. 13.34 billion project envisages water supply to 4040,000 people in the fluorosis affected Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts of Tamil Nadu.
Tmcft, (Tmc ft), (TMC), (tmc), is the abbreviation of thousand million cubic feet (1,000,000,000 = 109 = 1 billion), commonly used in India in reference to volume of water in a reservoir or river flow.
Anaikarai is a village panchayat under Thiruvidaimarudur Taluk in Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, India. Anaikarai connects with two major bridges. Nearly 1 km long on both sides. It is an island in the basin of Cauvery river. It is located at the distance of 260 km from Chennai and 25 km from Kumbakonam.
Srirangam Island is a river island in the city of Tiruchirappalli, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The island is formed by the Kaveri and Kollidam Rivers.
The Polavaram Project is an under construction multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the Eluru District and East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh. The project has been accorded National project status by the Central Government of India. Its reservoir back water spreads up to the Dummugudem Anicut and approx 115 km on Sabari River side. Thus back water spreads into parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha States. It gives major boost to tourism sector in Godavari Districts as the reservoir covers the famous Papikonda National Park, Polavaram hydro electric project (HEP) and National Waterway 4 are under construction on left side of the river. It is located 40 km to the upstream of Sir Arthur Cotton Barrage in Rajamahendravaram City and 25 km from Rajahmundry Airport.
The Upper Anaicut, also known as Mukkombu is a dam built on the Kaveri River in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. The regulator dam was constructed between 1836 and 1838 by Sir Arthur Cotton, a British irrigation engineer who was inspired by the architectural beauty of Grand Anaicut canal built by Karikala Chola in Kallanai of Thanjavur district in the second century.
The Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted under Article 262 of Constitution of India on the eve of reorganization of states on linguistic basis to resolve the water disputes that would arise in the use, control and distribution of an interstate river or river valley. Article 262 of the Indian Constitution provides a role for the union government in adjudicating conflicts surrounding interstate rivers that arise among the state/regional governments. This Act further has undergone amendments subsequently and its most recent amendment took place in the year 2002.
The 2018 Kaveri River water sharing protests are a series of ongoing protests on the issue of water sharing problems from the River Kaveri between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which are two states in India. The Kaveri water dispute has been a major controversial issue between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the years and the issue has been raised further with protests have been conducted across the state of Tamil Nadu by several groups including from the large pile of actors and directors who have temporarily stopped working on their projects, films over the Karnataka's sharing the Kaveri water to Tamil Nadu. The delay in establishing a Cauvery Management Board in order to share equal river share award has sparked off protests in Tamil Nadu against the Karnataka state government.
