Activists slam Govt for inaugurating Yettinahole Water Project amid environmental and efficacy concerns

Activists slam Govt for inaugurating Yettinahole Water Project amid environmental and efficacy concerns

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Sept 8, 2024: The Karnataka government has inaugurated the first stage of the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project, despite concerns from Chickballapur and other arid regions about water availability. Green activists from Mangaluru have alleged that the move is merely an attempt to divert attention from ongoing scandals and shows a lack of concern for ecological harm.

Shashidhar Shetty, convener of the National Environment Care Foundation (NECF), stated that the project fails to meet the drinking water needs of the targeted regions. A report by the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, led by T.V. Ramachandra, revealed that the actual water yield from the Yettinahole catchment is 9.55 TMC, far less than the 24 TMC claimed in the project DPR and by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Shetty accused the government of inaugurating the project to divert attention from political scandals and to present the first stage as a success, despite its ecological damage to the Western Ghats and the Netravathi River.

The project’s cost has skyrocketed from an initial estimate of Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 23,000 crore over 15 years. The Central Water Commission and the National Institute of Hydrology had previously questioned the project’s water yield.

Artist and activist Dinesh Holla, convenor of Sahyadri Sanchaya, warned that recent test flows in the massive pipeline triggered a landslide in Hassan district during heavy rainfall, highlighting the potential for further environmental damage. Holla also expressed concern over plans to divert Sharavati River water, which could threaten the Western Ghat’s ‘Shola’ forest.

Kishore Kumar from the Malnad Janapara Horata Samiti criticized the government’s plans to divert water from other tributaries and called for a people’s movement to halt environmentally harmful development projects.