How the clashes began
For 50 years the Mettur dam was completed. Tamil Nadu farmers used more than 75 per cent of the Cauvery waters, which was largely responsible for the tremendous escalation in rice cultivation in the state. The crisis, however, set in after Karnataka began developing its irrigation system based on the Cauvery waters. A series of dams on various Cauvery tributaries in Karnataka followed, reducing heavily the quantum of water available for Tamil Nadu farmers, particularly for the Kuruvai crop which clashes with Karnataka's kharif season.