Former Minister Laxman Savadi, MLA for Athani, has urged the State government to formulate a joint agreement with Maharashtra on sharing the Krishna river water for drinking purposes, vis-à-vis Maharashtra’s proposal seeking Karnataka’s consent for taking up lift irrigation in Hire Padasalgi of Jamkhandi taluk in Bagalkot district.
He was speaking during the Karnataka Development Programme (KDP) meeting presided over by Minister for Small Scale Industries and district in-charge Ramesh L. Jarkiholi here on Monday. He said several villages and towns in both Belagavi and Bagalkot in Karnataka and in Sangli and Solapur in Maharashtra face acute water shortage every summer. This makes Karnataka dependent on Maharashtra, which has been releasing up to 2 tmcft of water from Koyna or Varna dams in the upper reaches of the Krishna river to mitigate the shortage in Karnataka, but at a price.
He said the Maharashtra government had come up with a proposal to draw 4 tmcft of water through a lift irrigation scheme at Hire Padasalgi to supply drinking water to villages in Akkalkot and other towns of Solapur district and parts of Sangli district during summer. The compensation would be the release of equal amount of water to Karnataka from its reservoirs.
“Here is an opportunity to resolve the drinking water shortage in both the States, but it has been pending for the quite some time,” he said.
Mr. Savadi said the Krishna river was fast drying up and would be left with little water by April 15. When this happens, the State government would be left with little option but to look up to Maharashtra for help this year too, he said.
Earlier, MLAs criticised Rural Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation officials for their alleged lethargy in management of the multi-village drinking water supply schemes and the consequent delays in their completion, despite sufficient funds being made available by the government.
Mr. Jarkiholi warned officials against laxity in providing relief measures to villages facing shortage of drinking water and fodder.
MLA’s protest
Duryodhan Aihole, the BJP MLA for Raibag, on Monday staged a dharna right in front of the dais midway through the KDP meeting. He was protesting against the demolition of the Samudaya Bhavan in Birdi village in his constituency recently.
He had facilitated setting up the Samudaya Bhavan for SC communities, adjacent to the Krishna temple in the village, by providing ₹3 lakh under the MLA’s Local Area Development Fund last year.
But recently, it was demolished and construction on an Ambedkar Bhavan taken up using the fund of ₹12 lakh made available by the Congress MP from Chikkodi, Prakash B. Hukkeri, under the MP’s fund.
Mr. Aihole said, “I belong to the Dalit community, but should that mean that development and welfare works done by me meet such fate?”
He said normally Ambedkar Bhavans are constructed in Dalit colonies. But in Birdi, the Samudaya Bhavan constructed in a locality dominated by Lingayats was demolished in order to take up construction of the Ambedkar Bhavan, he said.
Deputy Commissioner N. Jayaram asked what had prevented Mr. Aihole from acting when the structure was demolished. However, he promised to look into the matter.
