The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : MLA wants legislation to conserve ground water

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 16, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

MLA wants legislation to conserve ground water

Staff Reporter

FOR A CAUSE: B.R. Patil (third from right) staging a protest seeking legislation for protection of ground water, in Bangalore on Thursday. — Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Bangalore: B.R. Patil, Janata Dal (S) MLA who has been suspended from the party, on Thursday staged a protest in front of Vidhana Soudha demanding enactment of a law for conserving ground water in the State. He said the indiscriminate digging of borewells had resulted in the depletion of the water table.

Accompanied by the former Minister K. Srinivasa Gowda, MLA, and the former Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, V.R. Sudarshan, MLC, he said ground water level in over 100 taluks of the State had gone down. The drinking water scarcity had become serious, and the water bodies were getting polluted due to excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides. Forests were getting denuded and even animals were migrating to new areas in search for water.

Mr. Patil said in 1996 the State Government had tabled a Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation and Control) Bill, and there was an urgent need for a debate on it and it had to be passed.

He urged Deputy Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to come out with a programme to conserve ground water and hoped that all the parties would support such an effort.

Mr. Srinivasa Gowda urged the Government to continue the Jala Samvardhane programme to desilt tanks, initiated by the S.M. Krishna Government.

Home Minister M.P. Prakash, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly N. Dharam Singh, Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha leader Vatal Nagaraj and the former Ministers M. Satyanarayana and V. Somanna extended their support.

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