No drinking water left even at the birthplace of Cauvery

MADIKERI: The irony can't be harsher. Talakaveri, the birthplace of the Cauvery river, has no drinking water left.
The open well in Bhagamandala vil lage has dried up, causing hardship to pilgrims and residents alike. If the situation continues, residents say, priests at the temple will be forced to fetch water from the holy pond ­ something done only during Teerthodbhava, an annual occurrence in which the goddess Cauvery is believed to emerge from a tiny pond in the form of a holy spring.
Kodagu district, known for its cool weather, has this year recorded a high of 30 degrees Celsius.
The Malnad region is reeling under the impact of the drought.
Rajeshachar, a priest, told STOI that his family members, till 2015, used a nearby bore well for cooking and drinking. The bore well has dried up this year. Chief priest Narayanachar is providing water from a stream that flows near his house, but that, too, is drying up, leaving the priests worried.
The water level in the borewell and the open well run by Shri Rajarajeshwari Trust, Bengaluru, has declined too.
Mutt officer Ravi says pilgrims are suffering because there is hardly any water to drink. Efforts by the Kodagu zilla panchayat to bring water from the Kanike, a tributary of the Cauvery, has not yielded results due to "improper supervision". The water problem can be permanently solved if enough attention is paid to the ZP scheme, he adds.
Talakaveri temple executive officer Jagadishkumar told STOI a proposal has been sent to the ZP to dig a borewell near Kailasashram because the regular source of water has depleted. Pilgrims complain of the water in the bathing pond being polluted. Another priest, Prashanthachar, says the priests have suggested to the administration it recycle the water in the pond to prevent pollution. Temple administrator and Kodagu additional deputy commissioner Satishkumar told STOI that the drinking water problem will be solved within a week by digging a borewell.