Karnataka - Bellary   

A belated, yet welcome move

BELLARY: Farmers of Kolur village in Bellary taluk are a happy lot as their fields will now receive water from the Tungabhadra. Bellary MP G. Karunakar Reddy commissioned the Kolur Lift Irrigation Scheme here on Sunday, which will help irrigate their lands. Around 2,050 acres of land in the village is served by distributory 13 of the low-level canal of the Tungabhadra reservoir. But, 800 acres of land at the other end of the dam, had been without water for the past 15 years.

After continuous appeals to elected representatives and officials concerned, the Government chose to implement a lift irrigation scheme only in 2005. Thereafter, progress on the scheme was quick. After a project report was prepared and approved, funds totalling Rs. 74 lakh was allocated. Work started in 2005 and was scheduled to be completed by October 2007. A pumpset had been erected to lift 12 cusecs of water from Hirehalla and Jodihalla and release it into the canal further down so as to irrigate the land at the other end, K.S. Kumar, Executive Engineer, No. 6 canal division, told The Hindu. He also said work on another lift irrigation scheme at distributory number 7 in Kolur village was nearing completion and would be ready in a month.

All civil works of the scheme, estimated to cost Rs. 1.49 crore, were complete. Only the installation of pumps and machinery were pending, he added. “Pumping machinery has arrived and would be erected soon,” he said.

Enquiries revealed that the scheme was approved and started in 1998, but owing to various reasons including non-release of funds, progress was slow. In 2005-06, special attention was given to the scheme, in addition to release of additional funds for construction of a bridge.

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