Raghavendra Uppoor, general secretary of the Udupi district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Raitha Morcha, said on Wednesday that the Congress government had neglected the Paschima Vahini project, which envisages construction of dams against west-flowing rivers in the coastal districts.
Addressing presspersons here, Mr. Uppoor said that though the estimated cost of the entire Paschima Vahini was ₹ 1,364 crore, only ₹ 100 crore had been allocated for it in the last two budgets of the Congress government. But no amount had been released for the actual construction of the dams. This project was essential for meeting both agricultural and drinking water needs of the district.
Even the construction of the Varahi Irrigation Project was progressing at a slow pace in the district. With the result, farmers were unable to use the water from the Varahi for irrigating their fields. It has been four decades since the project was sanctioned. Only its first phase work had been inaugurated.
But a large section of its work was still under construction. If the BJP was voted to power, the party would give priority to the completion of the Varahi Irrigation Project, he said.
He said that the Congress government had not taken any interest in reviving the ailing Brahmavar Cooperative Sugar Factory. The foundation stone for both the Varahi Irrigation Project and the Brahmavar Sugar Factory was laid on the same day four decades ago.
But the factory, which started its operations early, shut down in 2004 amid mounting losses. The BJP would give priority to reviving the factory.
The State unit of the BJP had released its manifesto recently and it had several schemes for the welfare of the farmers, Mr. Uppoor said.
