From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore

Bangalore, Sep 30: Karnataka proposed to take up irrigation projects to meet the needs of the 44 villages of Jatta taluk in Maharashtra’s Sangli district in cooperation with the neighbouring government, Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister M B Patil said on Sunday.

He was addressing a conference of farmers of Jatta taluk in Sangli district at Guddapur in Bijapur district.

Patil said the state government wanted to help the farmers of the 44 villages of Jatta taluk in Sangli district, which is across the Karnataka border in Maharashtra, as most of the farmers and residents of the villages were Kannadigas.

The 44 villages of the Jatta taluk in Sangli district were drought prone without permanent irrigation facilities and the condition of the people, especially the farmers was very deplorable, the minister said.

The minister said the Tubachi-Babaleshwar irrigation project being implemented by Karnataka to meet the irrigation needs of the farmers of Tikoka, Bijjaragi and Babanagar in the border areas of the State was proposed to be extended to cover the farmers of the Jatta taluk as well and indicated that the government would consultations with the neighbouring government soon.

The cost of the project and water would be equally shared by both the States, he said pointing out that the project would actually benefit Maharashtra, even though the beneficiaries were mostly Kannadigas.

''A high level meeting of the officials of the two governments will be convened soon,” he said.

The minister said the Maharasthra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is very familiar with the situation in Karnataka as he had served as the Congress party in-charge  for the State, had been quite helpful and readily responded by releasing water from Maharashtra when the farmers of the State were suffering due to drought conditions.

Maharashtra’s Forest Minister Patangarao Kadam, who is also the Sangli district in-charge, warmly appreciated the gesture of the Karnataka Water Resources Minister to ameliorate the problems of the farmers in Sangli district due to lack of irrigation facilities.

Union Minister of State for Coal Pratik Patil pointed out that Maharashtra was meeting the irrigation needs of almost half the Jatta taluk through the Mahishala irrigation project and welcomed the initiative of both the State governments.

Sugar and Small Industries Minister Prakash Hukkeri, Bilagi MLA J T Patil, Indi MLA Yashwantraya Gowda , Dharwad rural MLA Vinay Kulkarni and MLA Prakash Shendige were among the key speakers.