GULBARGA: Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Sunday dedicated to the nation the long-pending Bennethora Major Irrigation Project at Heroor K Village designed to irrigate 20,234 hectares of land in drought-prone Chitapur and Sedam taluks of Gulbarga district.

Farmers of 41 villages in Chitapur taluk and nine villages in Sedam taluk will be benefited by the project.

The project was launched as a drought relief work in 1972 to provide employment to the affected people by the then Chief Minister Devaraj Urs. The cost of the project, which was only Rs. 6 crore then, escalated to Rs. 315.05 crore. The project, designed to utilise 5.70 tmcft of water according to Scheme A of the Bachawat Tribunal award, will provide for 0.05 tmcft of water for Gulbarga city and other villages on the banks of the river.

Though the project was taken up during the tenure of Devaraj Urs, it was in 1983 that the foundation stone for the project was laid by the then Irrigation and Public Works Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

The Chief Minister said the priority of the Government was to complete all long-pending irrigation projects. Stating that the Government was aware of corruption and misappropriation of funds in the implementation of projects, particularly in the irrigation sector, Mr. Kumaraswamy said it had initiated action against the officers involved in such acts during the implementation of the Bennethora project.

Mr. Dharam Singh said the inauguration of the Bennethora project was a good beginning for Mr. Kumaraswamy and recalled the efforts of M. Mallikarjun Kharge, who was Water Resources Minister in his Government, for hastening the completion of the project by allocating Rs. 90 crore.

Mr. Eshwarappa said work on canal-bed levels in the Amarja Medium Irrigation Project in Aland taluk in Gulbarga district would be inaugurated on July 24. Agriculture Marketing Minister Sharanabasappa Darshanapur welcomed the gathering. Agriculture Minister Bandeppa Kashempur, Animal Husbandry Minister Revu Naik and Minister of State for Sports and Youth Affairs Alkod Hanumanthappa were present.

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