Karnataka Niravari Vedike, a conglomeration of farmers in the command area of Narayanpur Right Bank Canal (NRBC) demanded the State Government to expand irrigation network in the area for effective utilisation of Krishna waters allocated to Karnataka.
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Addressing a media conference at Reporters’ Guild here on Wednesday, A.C. Lingaraj Chukanatti, president of the forum, said that the Karnataka was not able to completely utilise its share of Krishna Waters allocated by Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal owing to lack of irrigation projects.
“As per the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal award, the NRBC gets a total of 41.38 tmcft of water including 22.40 tmcft under A Scheme and another 18.98 tmcft under B Scheme. However, as much as 28 tmcft water go unused annually as we don’t have irrigational network to properly use it,” he said.
Mr. Chukanatti said that over 2 lakh hectares of agricultural lands could be irrigated with the 41.38 tmcft waters at 5,000 hectares a tmcft, but the State was able to irrigate even less than half of it.
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“Of the 41.38 tmcft allocated to NRBC, 16.90 tmcft is presently irrigating 84,000 hectares of lands between 00 kms and 95 kms of NRBC, 12.34 tmcft is allocated to NRBC’s yet-to-be-constructed stretch between 95 kms and 168.50 kms, which is expected to irrigate 61.747 hectares and another 3.05 tmcft for under-construction stretch of NRBC 9A Distributary which is expected to irrigate 15,250 hectares. Even after completed the ongoing and to-be-undertaken projects, 9.09 tmcft of water, with which 45,903 hectares of land could be irrigated, would go unutilised,” he said.
Venkatesh Patil, another farmer leader associated with the Vedike, opined that the construction of 9A Distributory of NRBC would be best feasible way to utilise the unutilised water. “The project would benefit farmers’ in 107 villages in Manvi, Sindhanur, Lingasugur, Deodurg and Raichur taluks. We have been demanding for the project since 2008, but our cries are falling on deaf ears,” he said.
The farmers warned said that they would approach Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Minister for Water Resources M.B. Patil again with the demand of implementation of 5A Distributary project. “If our demand continues to be ignored, we will have to mobilise farmers from all the 107 villages that would be benefited by the 5A Distributary and intensify our struggle step-by-step,” they warned.
Farmer leaders Timmanagowda Chilkaragi, Shivakumar Patil Watagal, Basavarajappagowda Harvapur, Chandrashekharappa Vandali, Nagareddeppa Devaramani, Huchhabuddappa Naik and others were present.