Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Nov 2: Sahyadri Sanchaya convener Dinesh Holla on Monday November 2 said that water tanks in Kolar district had been in good condition during the British rule, but they began deteriorating after Independence due to poor maintainance, and that if the Yettinahole project were to be executed, Dakshina Kannada would become like Kolar soon.
Presenting a report on 'Action Research and Revival of Tank System in Kolar', which was prepared in 1997, at a press meet here, Holla said, "According to this report prepared at the behest of the state government, the status of tanks in Kolar district in particular and Karnataka state in general, was good, and they were maintained properly till the end of the British rule. The tank maintenance system like disposal of tank silt during summer season by the farmers for their agricultural lands, distribution of tank water for irrigation by Neeraganties, Thoties, Thalavaras etc, effecting minor repairs to tank bunds and other such measures were completely ignored after Independence. Thus the deterioration of tank system started and today almost all the tanks in that district are in a very bad condition. As a result of this, farmers aspire for water, but existing tanks are not able to meet their growing needs.
"Also, as tank maintenance was neglected, farmers started digging open wells. Even the government extended loans for sinking of irrigation wells, as a result of which innumerable irrigation wells were sunk. Then, the water table was at a depth of about 40 feet. As time passed, big and rich farmers started digging borewells. They used to get water to a tune of five to six thousand gallons by digging wells to a depth of 100 to 120 feet. This tempted other farmers too to dig borewells and even the government provided 50 percent subsidy for this activity. As a result, underground water table that stood at the level of 40 feet in 1965 declined to 400 feet in the year 1992 in Kolar," he explained.
"The report further stated that there is every possibility of further decrease in the water table in the coming one or two decades, if the same rate of construction of borewells continues in the district. The geologists and scientists had expressed the fear that an ecological disaster was in the offing in the district. If the water table depletes at this rate, water available at a depth of 1,000 feet would be neither useful for drinking nor for agriculture, as it contains lot of minerals, they had warned.
"By this, we can infer that the situation today in coastal belt of Karnataka was same as it was in Kolar in the year 1997. By taking up such projects, in a decade or two, even Dakshina Kannada would face the problem of the same gravity. Underground water table level in Mangaluru in 2004 was 9.8 metres, and as of now, it is at 17.8 metres according to a survey by district administration," Holla pointed out.
"Some people have been expressing the feeling that intensity of protest against Yettinahole project has been losing steam of late. But we are planning huge protests and an action plan is being drafted to continue with the protest programme. People of Mangaluru will wake up soon to the grim reality facing them, and hold protest against Yettinahole since there is high possibility of water scarcity affecting them in the coming summer. In the coming days, we will go beyond street plays and protests. We will educate students through seminars about the ill-affects of this project," he added.
Activist, Dinesh Pai, drew the attention of the concerned to the fact that the report had clearly mentioned that by spending 877 crore, removal of silt and revival of tanks was possible. "Revival of tanks can be successful even today. It can be done by removing silt and by undertaking other scientific measures. Yettinahole project is not a drinking water project meant only for Kolar, but according to the DPR, it is meant to meet the domestic needs of humans as well as cattle of districts like Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru and Hassan districts. So the general notion that it is a drinking water project exclusively meant for Kolar, is wrong. The negligence by the people of that district and government has together made them to face this grim situation,'' he stated
Rajesh Devadiga, Madhava Holla, Shashidhar Shetty and others were present at the press meet.