M.B. Patil, Water Resources and district in-charge Minister, said work on the third phase of the Mulawad Lift Irrigation project would be completed by November.
Speaking to mediapersons at Hittinahalli village of Vijayapura taluk, Mr. Patil said that since the work on the aqueduct was on on a full scale, he would ensure that the work on main canal would be finished by the end of November.
“After the completion of 200 km of main canal work, we will start filling up tanks that will not only provide water to local areas but also augment the groundwater level”, Mr. Patil said. Claiming that ₹14,000 crore worth irrigation projects were under way in Vijayapura alone, he said that about 85 tmc of water from Krishna would be used to complete projects to irrigate over 14.5 lakh acres of land of the district. Already, ten major irrigation projects — including Gutti Basavanna, Tubachi, Mulawad and Sankh — were under way. These would help fill up 203 tanks.
Mr. Patil assured farmers that justifiable prices would be given against their lands.
S.G. Biradar, section officer of the project, said while the 3 km project was supposed to be completed in two years, now it has been completed in nine months. He said a unique aspects of the project is that it has been designed in a way that it does not disturb the natural flow of the Don.
Mr. Biradar said that aqua duct worth ₹165 crore has been built on heavy pillars. He added that a total of three such ducts have been built under the third phase of Mulawad lift irrigation project that covers around 200 km.
