Cauvery calling

#Cauverycalling is a project initiated by Sadhguru in order to revive the River Cauvery

because,

 Cauvery has depleted 40% in the last 70 years

 Almost half the Cauvery basin suffers critical groundwater depletion
 87% of the basin’s original tree cover has been lost
 During the summer, the Cauvery is unable to reach the ocean
 A desolate, sandy bed is all that millions of people see for many months of the
year.
Another main objective of Cauvery calling is addressing Farmers distress. The suffering of
farmers and their suicides in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have made national headlines

 83% of farmers in Tamil Nadu and 77% of farmers in Karnataka are in debt
 17 districts in Tamil Nadu were drought-hit in 2019
 15 of the last 18 years have been drought years in Karnataka
Cauvery calling is actually implementation phase for Successful “Rally For Rivers” Campaign
completed by Sadhguru during September 2017. Rally for Rivers garnered over 16.2 million
votes and through which NITI Aayoog has accepted and have recommended the Rally for
Rivers documentation to States and Union territories.

Why The Cauvery Is Dying:-

The depletion of the Cauvery and the distress of farmers have a common source – the
dying soil.

The Cauvery, like almost all rivers in India, is forest-fed. Historically, this region was covered
in forests and tree cover. The soil was constantly replenished with nutrients and organic matter
by animal waste and plant litter.

Organic matter allowed the soil to absorb water, and thus feed the Cauvery. But as human
population grows and tree cover reduces, the soil is no longer replenished. It no longer
absorbs water and suffers erosion instead.

The soil no longer feeds the Cauvery, which is drying up.

There Is Only One Solution

The solution lies in replenishing the soil. If we can replenish the soil’s nutrients and carbon
content, it will once again turn fertile, absorb rainwater, and feed the Cauvery. This will revive
the river ecology and also improve the farmer’s economic situation.

The easiest and cheapest way to replenish soil is to plant trees.

 In government land, native tree species can be planted

 In private farmland, farmers can shift to agroforestry - the practice of growing
conventional crops with fruit and timber trees in the same farm.

What Cauvery Calling Will Achieve:

 Plant 242 crore trees in Cauvery basin, with 73 crore trees in the first phase across
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka
 Dramatically improve farmers wealth five-fold in five years
  Increase water retention in Cauvery basin
 Fight Climate Change
 Arrest Soil Erosion
Cauvery Calling campaign aims to plant 242 crore trees in Cauvery basin, with 73 crore trees
in the first phase across Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Once the Cauvery River starts to revitalize
and flow in abundance then,

1. There won’t be a need for both the States to fight for water.
2. This will become a proved methodology to revitalize rivers and increase farmers
income, hence state governments of India will start implementing this to revive their
respective rivers. Moreover Farmers will start changing their agricultural practises
because this methodology will increase their income. It will become a win win
situation!!

Critical View
The Karnataka High Court issued notices to the state government after a petition was filed
questioning the 'Cauvery Calling' campaign launched by Isha Foundation headed by
'Sadhguru' Jaggi Vasudev. The petition raised questions about how the foundation was
collecting funds from the public for the campaign.
The petition was filed by advocate AV Amarnathan questioning the Karnataka government for
supporting 'Cauvery Calling'. It mentions an event involving Jaggi Vasudev and Chief Minister
BS Yediyurappa in which it was announced that 2 crore saplings would be provided by the
Karnataka government.
Cauvery Calling is a nation-wide campaign focused on the Cauvery river and under the
campaign, the Isha Foundation claims to plant 242 crore trees along the Cauvery river under
the umbrella of the Rally for Rivers, a campaign launched by the same foundation earlier.
The point of contention however is that Isha Foundation - which enjoys the patronage of
several celebrities, industrialists, politicians and CSR wings of multinational companies - has
called for people to donate Rs 42 per tree. A look at the website by the foundation shows that
as of Wednesday, contributions to plant almost 4 crore trees were collected. Through three
crowdfunding links provided on the website, donations have come in for 1.4 lakh trees - which
adds up to Rs 58 lakh. Whether this is only from individuals or also from companies and
organisations is unclear.

The petitioner AV Amarnathan sought directions from the court to stop the Isha Foundation
from collecting money from the public for the Cauvery Calling campaign.
The petitioner questioned the need for the Isha Foundation to collect money from the public
for planting trees along the Cauvery river. "The Isha Foundation is planning to plant 253 crores
plants to save Cauvery river. The report states that the Isha Foundation is collecting Rs. 42/-
per tree planting from the public. That means the Isha Foundation is collecting a sum of Rs,
10,626/- crores. This collection of money from the public is very disturbing," argued the
petitioner.
The petitioner questioned if such a sum can be allowed to be collected by a private
organization to do work on government/public land.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev flagged off Cauvery Calling in a bike rally starting in Talacauvery,
the birthplace of the Cauvery river on September 3.
In an event held in Palace Grounds in Bengaluru on September 8, Karnataka Chief Minister
BS Yediyurappa announced that the state Forest Department would donate 2 crore saplings
for the movement. The event was attended by BJP leaders CT Ravi and PC Mohan.
The petitioner also argued that in the past personalities like Saalumarada Thimakka and Jadav
Payeng had planted trees in the state without collecting money from the public. 106-year-old
Saalumarada Thimmakka is an environmentalist from Karnataka who became famous after
planting and tending to 385 banyan trees along a four-kilometre highway stretch between
Hulikal and Kudoor village in Tumakuru district. Jadav Payeng is credited with planting
saplings and seeds along a dry sandbar by the Brahmaputra river in Assam, creating a forest
over 500 acres of land.
AV Amarnathan has also asked if the Karnataka government gave approval for donating
saplings after going through studies that Isha Foundation claims has been done on the
Cauvery basin. “The state also has to study the project, and look into the pros and cons of the
said project to give approval for such a huge project,” the petition said.
Justice Mohammad Nawaz hearing the case asked the Karnataka government and Isha
Foundation to file objections within three weeks.