With H.D. Kumaraswamy, State president of the Janata Dal (Secular), set to take charge as Chief Minister, greens in Dakshina Kannada have reminded him that he once termed the ongoing Yettinahole project as a “money looting programme” and hence should order an enquiry into it.
Taking to social media, Shashidhar Shettty, convener, National Environment Care Federation (NECF), which has been raising voice against the project, posted that it is time for Mr. Kumaraswamy to conduct an enquiry into the project.
Mr. Shetty said that the JD(S) leader had stated in Mangaluru last December that the project was unscientific and would not help people of the parched districts.
Dinesh Holla, convener, Sahyadri Sanchaya, another group spearheading the campaign against the project, said that if an enquiry was conducted people would come to know how much money has been looted.
The Janata Dal (Secular) leader had also said that he would also find out a solution to the water scarcity in parched districts as he was against the Yettinahole project. He should now reveal the solution, Mr. Holla said.
Mr. Kumarasway went on record at a press conference in the city five months ago that the government, while laying the foundation stone for the project in 2014, had announced that Kolar and Chickballapur would get the water in a year.
But water had not reached even Sakaleshpur. People of the two districts have realised that they would not get water from the project. Earlier speaking to reporters at Kolar in May, 2015, Mr. Kumaraswamy had alleged that there were irregularities in Yettinahole project.
Mr. Holla said that the activists would soon meet all new MLAs of Dakshina Kannada to make their stand clear on the project.
Letters would be sent to the new Forest Minister, Irrigation Minister and the Chief Minister to make it clear whether they would stall the ongoing project.
He said that civil works of the project had extensively damaged the sensitive bio-diversity in the Western Ghats.
Though it is one of the bio-diversity hotspots in the world elected represenatives are least bothered to conserve it for the future generation.
