mangalore today

Karnataka BJP chief Yeddurappa to bell the cat on Yettinahole issue


Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, April 25, 2016: Interacting with members of Nethravathi Rakshana Samyukta Samiti  that is spearheading agitation against the project late on April 23, Saturday late evening, former CM and state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa. said he will take up the issue with CM Siddaramaiah. "Nalin Kumar Kateel, local MP is already with you in this fight to ensure that the interests of the locals are protected," he said. The project per se could render this coastal district barren but also will not serve interests of people of the parched districts, he averred.

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Acute water scarcity in coastal district caught the attention of former CM and state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa. Accused by his political detractors especially from the Congress for having approved the much debated Yettinahole Project, Yeddyurappa said it is necessary to have total discussion about the project that plans to draw  excess flood waters from tributaries of the Nethravathi river.

Samiti’s water expert S G Mayya impressed on Yeddyurappa about factual inaccuracies in DPR, detailed project report that envisages availability of  24TMC feet of water from the project for parched districts. Mayya also stressed on the adverse impact that the project will have on the ecologically fragile Western Ghats. The project incidentally is coming up in the midst of the Western Ghats in Hassan district just off the Dakshina Kannada-Hassan district border along NH 75.

M G Hegde and Ramachander Bykampady, Samiti leaders gave a brief on various lacunae in the project that Siddaramaiah government is seeking to implement as panacea to water woes plaguing the parched districts. Reacting to demand by the Samiti that the former CM use his good offices and ensure that the union ministries of water resources and environment and forest does not grant requisite clearances for future stages of the project, Yeddyurappa said he will look into this.

CM Siddaramaiah during his visit to DK had asserted there is more than 24TMC feet of water available from the project. A move by the Samiti to stage protest against CM during his visit to Surathkal that evening and police swoop down had drawn sharp reactions on either side of the political divide. While MP Nalin Kumar had criticized the move, B Ramanath Rai, district in-charge minister had dared the protesters to question Yeddyurappa on this issue when he visited the district.