Political tensions over the disputed Hogenakkal water project have eased, but for how long? PC VINOJ KUMAR & SANJANA report IT WAS a tame end to the weeklong political drama that unfolded in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the disputed Hogenakkal water project. Relations between the two states reached a new low over the drinking water project that is supposed to benefit about three million people in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts of Tamil Nadu. Karnataka is opposing the scheme claiming the project is located in a disputed territory. The DMK government, which was adamant that it would implement the scheme, later backtracked in the face of alleged political pressure from the Centre. In a decision that has raised many eyebrows, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has decided to put on hold the implementation of the Hogenakkal drinking water project till a popular government assumes office in Karnataka. His opponents say he has succumbed to the pressures from the Congress, the DMK's ally in the Centre and the state. Opposition parties MDMK and AIADMK accused Karunanidhi of betraying the state's interests. Karunanidhi's decision comes in the wake of widespread violence in Karnataka, targeting Tamil cinema halls, and vehicular traffic from Tamil Nadu. In retaliation, some hotels belonging to Kannadigas were targeted in Chennai. Buses from Karnataka were stoned in many places. Actors from both Tamil and Kannada film industries observed hunger strikes. The Tamil Nadu government is insisting that the Hogenakkal project is nowhere near the disputed territory. Karnataka had given its consent to the project in 1998. The scheme is of importance to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts, since both districts have high fluoride content in their groundwater. DMK leaders admit that the decision to hold up the project was partly political and partly to safeguard the lives of the Tamils living in Karnataka. "There were reports that Tamils would be targeted during the Karnataka bandh on April 10. We wanted to avoid that kind of situation at all cost,' said a senior DMK leader. Though the Congress in Karnataka opposed the project, it was the BJP that politicised the issue first. State BJP leader and former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa entered Hogenakkal on March 16 along with his supporters to protest against the project. BJP MP Ananth Kumar had earlier raised the issue in the Lok Sabha. The BJP leaders want the alleged "territory dispute' between the two states to be resolved first. THERE IS a long standing dispute between our State and Tamil Nadu on Hogenakkal. We had agreed to a joint survey to settle that territorial dispute. Before such a survey could take place, Tamil Nadu announced the drinking water project at Hogenakkal,' Yeddyurappa told TEHELKA. He denied that the BJP-led NDA government had cleared the project. "As far as I know, these are rumours created to mislead people and malign the BJP