Farmers, people’s representatives and officers of Hassan district administration, presented the ground level situation of crops, water available in the reservoir and water required in the coming days before the high-level technical team of government, which visited the Cauvery basin area, in Hassan district on Saturday.
A paddy grower spoke with the head of the team, Central Water Commission chairman G.S. Jha, as it reached Alugondanahalli near Holenarasipur. He said that farmers were in distress owing to the non-availability of sufficient water for standing crops. “We are from the constituency represented by the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. Yet, we do not have enough water to drink, forget meet our agricultural needs,” he said.
The team entered Hassan district after covering Mandya around 12.30 p.m. The members were welcomed by Hassan Deputy Commissioner V. Chaitra and other senior officers of the district. They stopped at Yade Gowdanahalli and Alugondanahalli in Holenarasipur taluk. They inspected canals that carry Hemavati water to agricultural fields. Later, they visited Bettadahalli in Arkalgud and inspected the Hemavati Right Bank Higher Level Canal, before proceeding to the Hemavati reservoir at Gorur. The officers of Hemavati Dam Project, led by Divakar Naik, Chief Engineer, briefed the team about the available water storage and the amount of water required to fulfil drinking and irrigation needs of the district.
Team members
Mr. Jha said that the team would submit a report to the Supreme Court by October 17. He did not reply when asked if there was enough water in the Cauvery basin to meet requirements. The team included P. Swamynathan, Shanmuga Sundaram, Prabhakar, Mahanudevan, R.K. Gupta and Masood Hussain, accompanied by senior officers of Karnataka government.
Minister for Sericulture and Animal Husbandry A. Manju, Law Minister T.B. Jayachandra, legislators H.D. Revanna, C.N. Balakrishna, H.K. Kumaraswamy, H.S. Prakash, K.M. Shivalinge Gowda and M.V. Gopalaswamy met the team at the guest house in Gorur and briefed the members about the water requirement in their respective constituencies. Leaders of the JD(S), BJP and Raitha Sangha submitted separate memorandums to the committee.
Mr. Revanna said, “Farmers of more than 6.5 lakh acres of land, dependent on the Hemavati, are in distress. They need compensation. We hope the team will present the ground realities to the court.
Mr. Jayachandra said, “The team is conducting an aerial survey to understand how the tanks have dried up. We hope to get a report that is favourable to the State.”.
