The Hindu : Karnataka News : `Decision on Hemavathy water release yet to be taken'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

`Decision on Hemavathy water release yet to be taken'

By Our Staff Correspondent

TUMKUR, SEPT. 12. Four senior leaders of the Janata Dal (Secular) on Sunday disputed claims by the Congress leader and former Minister, T.B. Jayachandra, on the State Government's approval to release Hemavathy waters into the Sira Tank in Tumkur district.

B.K. Manjunath, president of the Sira taluk unit of the Janata Dal (S); Santosh, president of its city unit of the party; R. Ramu, president of the Sira Town Municipal Council; and Bande Ramakrishna, president of the party's youth wing; told presspersons here that the Government had not taken a final decision on the matter.

`Misleading people'

They alleged that Mr. Jayachandra was misleading the people of the district by claiming that Hemavathy waters would be released into the tank soon.

Releasing copies of a letter from the Government to B. Satyanarayana, Janata Dal (S) MLA, they said the Government at a meeting on June 24 considered a proposal to release 0.122 tmcft. of water from the Hemavathy Tumkur Canal into the Sira and Kallambella tanks to supply it to two towns and villages for drinking.

However, the Government had not taken a final decision on the matter due to certain technical problems, the Janata Dal (S) leaders said.

Mr. Manjunath and Mr. Ramu said an expert in irrigation had stated that water should be released in the Hemavathy Tumkur Canal for 160 days to fill the two tanks.

But, Hemavathy water would be released into the canal only for 60 days every year, they added.

New proposal

The Janata Dal (S) leaders said the Government was aware of the matter.

A new proposal to lift water from the canal and release it into the Sira and Kallambella tanks through pipelines had been submitted to the Government, they said.

Mr. Satyanarayana obtained the Government's approval to supply water to Sira from the Gyatri Reservoir in Chitradurga district when he was the Minister in-charge of Tumkur district in the J.H. Patel Ministry, they said. Subsequently, work on the project commenced, the Janata Dal (S) leaders added.

The Krishna Government stalled the work in 1999, they alleged, and blamed Mr. Jayachandra for it.

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