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The violence in Bangalore, and Haryana earlier this y ear, was a sign of just how heated tempers can get in India when water resources become scarce. But it's not just civilians who get involved in needless violence.

The Nagarjuna Sagar dam is located on the boundary of the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh and the Nalgondha district of Telangana, recently bifurcated states that now have to share the water of the river Krishna. The dam and the river have what is possibly the unique status of not just being the cause of violence between citizens but between police officers too.

Last year, as Andhra Pradesh officials approached the dam with police personnel from the state to open its sluice gates, Telangana police officials stood in their way, Telangana insisted that Andhra had already used its fair share of water. The unruly video of police personnel resorting to fights like this couldn't demonstrate how messy this bifurcation has been and how seriously states take their water rights. The incident prompted a meeting of the Chief Ministers and an attempt to calm things down, although the Krishna debate is yet to be resolved.

This year so far, has seen good rains in the area so the dam has not yet been at the centre of debate. Both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been able to irrigate their land without relying on the Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar dams. However, the former is only half full of water while the latter is almost empty, and the situation could change and demand to release water could be expected later.