The Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) has demanded that the Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah, remove Major and Medium Irrigation Minister M.B. Patil and Minor Irrigation Minister and Koppal in-charge Shivaraj Tangadagi from the Cabinet on grounds of “irresponsibility and inefficiency.”
Addressing a media conference here on Tuesday, KRRS State president Chamarasa Malipatil said that both the Ministers had utterly failed in water management in the Tungabhadra command area. “Farmers at the lower reaches of Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC) face severe shortage of water for their fields every year as lakhs of acres of land in the upper reaches are illegally irrigated. They have been demanding both the Ministers to control unauthorised expansion of irrigation at the upper reaches and ensure sufficient water for their authorised fields. But the Ministers never heeded the farmers’ pleas,” he charged.
Canal breach and corruption
Referring to the breach of TLBC breach near 31st mile point at Karatagi taluk in Koppal district on Sunday, Mr. Malipatil alleged that the widespread corruption in implementing canal strengthening work was the prime reason for frequent canal breaches in the Tungabhadra command area.
“The government has spent Rs. 2,000 crore for strengthening the entire stretch of TLBC. Yet, the canal breaches every year. It indicates the poor quality of work as a result of widespread corruption. Officials and contractors are misappropriating huge amounts of public funds in the name of strengthening the tail-end stretches of some sub-distributaries in the command area that had never received canal water in the last about 20 years. M.B. Patil and Shivaraj Tangadagi have become mute spectators. When we raised the issue of the recent canal breach and demanded its immediate repair so as to provide water to TLBC tail-end farmers, both the Ministers responded irresponsibly,” he charged.
Mr. Malipatil felt that the recent breach would worsen the water crisis at the tail-end parts of the canal. “Farmers in Raichur and Manvi taluks are already being hit by drought. Now the TLBC breach would postpone the arrival of water to their areas if the officials delayed its repair,” he said.
Holding M.B. Patil and Shivaraj Tangadagi responsible for the water crisis in Raichur and Manvi taluks, Mr. Malipatil demanded that the Chief Minister replace them with “efficient and responsible” Ministers.
