Darur Purushotam Gouda, president, district unit of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Hasiru Sene, who spearheaded the symbolic movement of removing silt from the Tungabhadra dam in Hosapete, has planned to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Water Resources Minister to request assistance for the removal of silt on a large scale.
On Tuesday, Mr. Gouda, addressed a press conference to declare the accounts on the collection of donation and expenditure incurred for removing silt for 25 days. He said farmers could remove silt on their own in a patch of 15 acres of land in the dam site by digging up to four feet. A large quantum of silt could be removed in a big way on a regular basis every year if the Union government extended its help. “We will go to the Prime Minister soon and report what was been done by farmers on their own. We will also request him to extend assistance in the removal of silt that has accumulated at the 60-year-old dam and increase its storage capacity,” he said.
Mr. Gouda took exception to Water Resource Minister M.B. Patil’s reported statement in the Assembly reiterating that removing silt was economically viable and that it was proposed to build a mini-dam in Koppal district on the left side of the dam as an alternative. “The Minister has only been misleading the public and the government was not exhibiting the political will to find a permanent solution to the chronic problem of dwindling storage capacity that is affecting irrigation in Tungabhadra command area. It is better he quits the portfolio and seeks a different one,” he said.
He also expressed his anguish over the elected representatives of the Congress in Ballari district not showing any interest in the gigantic task compared to elected representatives of Koppal and Raichur districts and opposition parties.
Mr. Gouda said that around ₹30.39 lakh was mobilised in through donations. Of this, ₹30.15 lakh was spent on diesel for tractors and lorry tippers, diesel and rent for earthmovers, food and the like. He thanked the donors, farmers, and traders, among others, for their generous contribution towards the cause.
