Farmers who participated in a conference at Manvi in Raichur district on Thursday demanded that the State government provide sufficient water to the tail-end areas of the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC) for irrigation.
The event was organised by the Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS). The speakers held officials of the Department of Water Resources responsible for the mismanagement that resulted in shortage of water at the lower reaches of the canal.
Mahantesh Patil Attanur, State vice-president of the Janata Dal (Secular), said that water theft was rampant at the upper reaches of the canal for irrigation of unauthorised land.
“Over 1.5 lakh acres of unauthorised land is irrigated at the upper reaches of the canal, particularly in Gangavati taluk, causing shortfall of water for authorised land at the lower reaches, particularly in Manvi and Raichur taluks. Irrigation Department officials have joined hands with thieves who are powerful and influential,” he said. Mr. Attanur alleged that considerable amount of non-local area along the left-side (upper side) of the canal was illegally localised by powerful politicians and mighty landlords with the help of officials in the Irrigation Department.
Pointing at the Union government’s submission in the Supreme Court with regard to the Swaminathan Commission recommendations, G.V. Srirama Reddy, State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi terming him “anti-farmer”.
D. Veerana Gowda, a leader of the KPRS, said that farmers along the lower reaches of TLBC would be mobilised.
