The Upper Bhadra Major Irrigation, a project which was originally conceived by former Chief Minister S. Nijalingappa in 1969 to provide irrigation facilities in drought-prone areas of Chitradurga, is taking final shape and in all likelihood will be completed in 2017.
Originally, the project was designed to lift water from Margundi in Chikkamagaluru district to irrigate the parched lands in Chitradurga district, which incidentally has not been covered under any major irrigation project.
The issue kept dragging for over three decades before administrative approval was given to the project in 2003-04 when H.K. Patil was the Water Resources Minister in the S.M. Krishna government. However, environmental issues and need for large tracts of forestland stalled the project.
The issue was raked up again by the legislators from Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts. The then Minister for Water Resources Mallikarjun Kharge ordered a re-survey of the project and formed a technical committee in 2006 with K.C. Reddy as chairman.
The K.C. Reddy Committee in its report submitted in 2007-08 recommended the implementation of the project by lifting water in two stages to minimise the loss of forestland.
As much as 15 tmcft of water would be lifted from the Tunga River to the Bhadra Reservoir, and in the second stage, 29.9 tmcft of water from the Bhadra Reservoir would provide irrigation for over 2.25 lakh hectares through micro irrigation. This water would also fill up 367 tanks (157 through Chitradurga Branch Canal and 131 through Tumukuru branch).
The project is designed to change the economic face of drought-prone Chitradurga district and help farmers achieve self-sustenance.
It includes a lift irrigation project at Tarikere for Chikkamagaluru.
The largest beneficiary of the project is Chitradurga district with more than 1.61 lakh hectares in drought-prone Hosadurga, Holalkere, Hiriyur, Chitradurga, Challikere and Jagalur in Davanagere getting irrigation facilities for the first time.
Tarikere and Kadur in Chikkamagaluru district will get irrigation facilities in 44,555 hectares and Chikkanayakanahalli and Sira in Tumukuru district facilities in 19,215 hectares.
