Nearly 26,000 hectares of land in the command area of the Krishna in Bagalkot district will be irrigated by a drip irrigation project to be taken up Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. (KBJNL).
Sources in KBJNL claimed that a drip irrigation project was being taken up on such a large scale for the first time in the world.
The Rs. 800-crore pilot project would be implemented under Stage II of the Ramanath Lift Irrigation Project in the district. Based on its success, the project would be replicated in various irrigation projects taken up under the Upper Krishna Project Stage III.
KJBNL has completed Stage I of the Ramanath Lift Irrigation Project and nearly 13,500 hectares of land is being irrigated by conventional method.
Sources said that that conventional method of irrigation required more water as it entailed supplying through canals.
With drip irrigation, however, large tracts of land could be irrigated with limited supply of water.
“Drip irrigation method will help us irrigate at least 40 per cent more land compared to conventional methods of irrigation,” KJBNL officials said.
Advantages
One of the other advantages of using drip irrigation system was that yield would increase by nearly 50 per cent as water would be supplied at a steady rate, the officials said.
Supply in tail-end
The other advantage is that water could be supplied even to tail-end farmers, they said.
Officials, however, said the success of the project would depend on proper upkeep of the water supply lines.
Chief Minster Jagadish Shettar is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the drip irrigation project on Sunday.
