Foundation for controversial Yettinahole Project on Sept 15?

Mangalore Today News Network

Bangalore, Aug 31, 2013 : The State Government has finally decided to go ahead with the controversial Yettinahole project which is aimed at harnessing  22 tmc ft to 24 tmc ft of water from Yettinahole, a tributary of Netravathi River in Hassan District during peak monsoon and diverting it to  drought prone Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Tumkur and Bangalore rural districts.

It is noteworthy here that the government is keen in initiating this project which is  believed to be a subdued avatar of the Netravathi River Diversion Project and is widely opposed in Dakshina Kannada district.

Sources have revealed that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will himself lay the foundation for this project at Chikkaballapura on September 15. With the Lok Sabha elections nearing, the Congress Government in the state is all set to highlight this project as a major programme in Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Tumkur districts.

The Project at a Glance :  The project proposes to harness 24 tmc ft from Yettinahole in Hassan district   at a cost of Rs 8,323 crore. According to a feasibility report, prepared by a private agency EI Technologies, it is possible to divert Yettinahole waters during the peak monsoon to storage facilities in the targeted districts. Apart from  existing minor irrigation tanks (MIs) and new reservoirs could be constructed to store the water. In Chikkaballapur, the total live capacity of 134 tanks is 7.86 tmc and in Kolar, the capacity of 79 tanks is 4.96 tmc.

The first phase of the project is estimated to cost Rs 3,269 crore. It involves construction of dams and reservoir, pumping of water, flowing of water with gravitational force and finally filling of lakes. As per the project, 24 tmc ft of water from Ettinahole and a couple of other tributaries of Netravathi River will be drawn by constructing minor dams.

The water will be pumped for 10 km up to Haravanahalli in Hassan, from where the water will be flown to Tumkur (233 km) with gravitational force. From Tumkur, the water will be pumped for 8.10 km to Devarayanadurga and stored in a reservoir. Then, water will be pumped to the beneficiary districts.