While the State government is still finding it hard to address the issue of large quantity of silt accumulated in the Tungabhadra reservoir, the Karnataka Prantha Raita Sangha (KPRS) has come up with a simple solution. Addressing a media conference at the Reporters’ Guild here on Wednesday, D. Veerana Gowda, a leader of the farmers’ organisation, said that encouraging all the farmers around the reservoir to take as much silt as they want for increasing the fertility of their fields could be one possible solution.
“As per the estimation, as much as 33 tmc ft. of silt is accumulated in the reservoir, affecting the storage capacity. Many have already expressed the technical impossibility of dredging the reservoir. If farmers and government join hands, it would no longer be an impossible task. The government should start dredging the reservoir in summer when the water level is low and allow the farmers to take the silt to their fields to supplement their fields’ fertility. The government should soon come up with a feasible plan that would involve farmers around the dam and help both tasks – dredging reservoir and increasing soil fertility,” he suggested.
He took exception to the government’s objection to farmers taking silt from the dam. “When the government expresses its desire to dredge the reservoir, why should it object to farmers taking silt,” he questioned.
Mr. Gowda attacked political parties and elected representatives from the Tungabhadra command area by alleging that they did not want to resolve the silt issue. “As long as the issue continues to persist, these parties and their leaders can use it for their political gains. That is why they just want to de-silt the dam in words, but not in deeds,” he said.
He also demanded that authorities explore the possibility of building a balancing reservoir on the right bank canal so as to enable the State to completely utilise its share of water in the reservoir. “The spot is identified and the space is ready. But the government is not interested,” he alleged.
