Netravathi Nadi Samrakshana Okkuta, an action committee of several organisations fighting against the Yettinahole diversion project and saving the Netravathi, has offered to take a team of people from the parched districts to enlighten them on the quantity of water available for diversion from the project in reality.
In an open letter to the people, its convener Niranjana Rai, who is a doctor, said some people were wondering why the okkuta was opposing provision of drinking water to the parched districts.
The committee was not against supplying drinking water. But even if the project was completed there was no guarantee that people of Kolar and Chickballapur would get drinking water due to lack of availability. People would realise this only if they visited the project site.
When S.G. Mayya, a retired professor of Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydrology, National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, in a recent meting with the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (KNNL) officials here, questioned the authenticity of the detailed project report, but they did not give a satisfactory reply. Mr. Mayya had said that the KNNL had inflated the quantity of water available from the project. According to the KNNL, 24 tmcft of water would be available for diversion while according to Mr. Mayya, not more than 9 tmcft would be available.
He said the government, instead of honestly trying to address the confusions on the availability of water, was showing interest only in speeding up the execution of the project. People should understand this.
It is important to note that the project (constructing eight weirs in a radius of about 60 km) would damage the Western Ghats, one of the eight bio-diversity hotspots in the world. Other developmental activities have already damaged the ghats, he said.
If water flow in the Netravathi decreases, the infusion of salt water into the river from the sea would increase.
Mr. Rai said the coastal region has been providing power, petroleum and plastics to people in other parts of the State.
