Improper Drains Cause Endless Pain to Kota Residents

Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Kota

Kota, Aug 13: The problems faced by the farmers in Kota are endless. Every year, thousands of cultivated lands are being flooded, but the people's representatives and officials seem to be blind on this issue. This is the common story of farmers in areas like Giliyoor, Betlakki, Upladi, Kavadi, Bannadi Thenkabettu, Kudrumane, Vaddarse and Kartattu.

The gutter for the rain water flowing from Kota-Betlakki in Udupi to Belooru of Kundapur taluk has been filled will waste, garbage, weeds and plants. As a result, the flow of rain water is interrupted, and nearly 5 acres of cultivation land is flooded every year. These gutters have been of a greater problem to the farmers of these regions.

Due to the impact of heavy rain, the Hiri Hole river whose water flows down from a mountain named Saalu in Vakwady and drainage gutters in Moodugiliyur not only tends to flood the fields, but also the houses and farms in these regions.

All these problems are caused due to the unavailabilty of alternate drain facility for the excess water to flow out, thus resulting in a huge loss every year.

Another problem faced by the farmers of the Kota-Saibarakatte highway area is the blockage of rain water from Suladpu-Betlakki.

This can be prevented by the construction of bridges across the affected areas in order to ensure the smooth flow of rain water, as the water that flows from here joins the Kavadi lake, and from there directly to the Mabukala lake.

The construction of several narrow drains on the highway is also said to be another reason for the obstruction of flow of rain water. A bridge was required on the Kota-Saibarakatte state highway, but instead narrow drains were constructed, which is the main reason behind such disasters every year.

The local farmers have been continuously fighting for a solution to their problems, but in vain.

The farmers say that instead of constructing the bridge, this year a support wall was built. They alleged that the contractors misused the funds allotted for bridge construction.
 
“We will need to permanently vacate this place as the houses and the fields are flooded every year. We are fed up of issuing memorandum to the people representatives. Along with the cleaning of drains, there is a need for a bridge on the Kota-Saibarakatte Highway. Last few days when it rained incessantly we feared that the road would have got washed away, as it was overflowing with rain water," says local farmer Ramesh Betlakki.