Karnataka   

Farmers end 540-day fast

Hiriyur (Chitradurga district): With the assurance of Minister for Water Resources (Major and Medium Irrigation) Basavaraj Bommai that the Government will work out a plan to provide water to Hiriyur taluk, the 540-day relay fast by farmers here ended on Wednesday.

The Minister visited the taluk following reports of the deteriorating condition of three farmers. They were brought to the district hospital in Chitradurga on Tuesday after their condition became serious. They are said to be recovering.

Mr. Bommai, who came along with Revenue Minister and district in-charge G. Karunakar Reddy, promised the farmers that, as a temporary arrangement, the taluk would be given water from the proposed Upper Bhadra Irrigation Project, scheduled to be completed within four years. He said the foundation for this Rs. 3,000-crore project would be laid in the first week of January.

Towards creating a permanent source of water for irrigation in the taluk, the Minister said the Government had two options before it.

The Yagachi Irrigation Project would be studied to find out if water could be provided to the taluk through it. “We can also think of making the Vani Vilas Sagar dam in Chitradurga district the reservoir under the Upper Bhadra Project,” he added.

According to the present Upper Bhadra Project, the plan was to build a dam at Ajjampur village in Chikmagalur district, the Minister said, but added that now the Government was contemplating on making the source the Vani Vilas Sagar dam.

Mr. Bommai said the State Finance Advisory Committee would be asked to find out whether these plans were feasible.

He promised to come out with a solution to the drinking water problem in the taluk within three months.

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