Krishna River Drying Up — A Looming Water Crisis

April 28, 2025
Thematic Focus: Water Security | Federal Relations | GS Paper 2 & 3

🕊️ Intro Whisper:

When a river forgets its flow, fields forget their songs.

🔹 Key Highlights: Krishna River Drying Up — A Looming Water Crisis

• The Krishna River, lifeline of Kalyan Karnataka, is drying up earlier than usual.
• Agriculture devastated; government tanker supply for drinking water in place.
• The river spans 1,400 km, with 75.86% of its basin used for agriculture.
• Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah requested:
  • 2 tmcft from Koyana
  • 1 tmcft from Varana (Maharashtra reservoirs)
• Maharashtra is yet to respond.
• 2004 water-sharing agreement between the two states exists but has been hindered by:
  • Cost escalations
  • Delayed implementation
• The river also faces ecological challenges like:
  • Monsoon soil erosion
  • Basin degradation
  • Reduced flow due to climate variation
• Climate change may worsen water stress across southern India if no cooperative river governance is adopted.

🧭 Concept Explainer:

The Krishna River crisis is not just about water — it’s about the fragility of inter-state cooperation, the vulnerability of rain-fed agriculture, and the ecological tightrope of managing shared resources in a climate-uncertain future.

It’s a reminder that water conflicts are not wars of weapons, but of waiting — and that rivers cannot be managed through political letters alone.

🧾 GS Mapping:

• GS Paper 2: Inter-State Relations | Federalism | Governance
• GS Paper 3: Water Resources | Disaster Management | Climate Impact

💠 A Thought Spark — by IAS Monk:

“The river that once bound the soil to seed now carries the silence of thirst.”