DHNS

Mangalore Sep 11: The resolution was drawn during an interactive meeting convened at Sandesha Fine Arts College at Bajjodi here on Monday.

Including resource persons Dayananth Kotian and Manohar Prasad, all members participated in the seminar observed that the project should not be implemented at any cost.
Mr Kotian and Mr Prasad commonly noted that both Paramashivaiah Committee Report and K C Reddy Committee Report have only gone on explaining the benefits of the project, but not a single sentence on the disadvantages to be experienced by the people of Dakshina Kannada.

Mr Kotian apprehended that if 230 kms of canal will be dug in the Western Ghats as per the project lines, a large number of trees and rare species of the biological hotspot will be in threat.

Threat to Ghats

"The soil in the Western Ghats will get loosened due to the lapse of forest cover, which in turn will fill the district with a huge amount of silt," he noted.

"The people behind the project have been creating wrong notions at the administrative level by saying that Dakshina Kannada gets abundant rainfall, hence a huge quantum of water is simply 'wasted' into the sea. This is the only reason they give to divert Netravathi towards Kolar and Bellary. But they never had understood that the river gets good waterflow only during the monsoons," Mr Kotian said.

The planners are stating that only 350 TMC water will be taken to other districts, but nobody has done a scientific study regarding the exact quantum of water available from Netravathi. If the river water is diverted, the agriculturists and the proposed multi-crore projects of the district will definitely suffer out of water scarcity, he explained.

'Form committee'

Journalist Manohar Prasad emphasised on the necessity of a united movement against the project under the banner of a comprehensive committee.

He also said the people leading the movement should be careful about the political versions the movement may catch in the future. "If any movement gets political angles, its very purpose will get spoiled," he cautioned.

Vasudev Bolur, B K Krishnappa, Kallige Taranath Shetty, Umar U H, Pradeep Kumar Kalkura expressed their views against the project. Earlier to this, the programme co-ordinator B Ramanath Rai inaugurated the seminar. Congress leaders Abhayachandra Jain, Ivan D'Souza, Sandesha Director Fr Francis Louis were present.