Bengaluru: This is a real shocker! People of Dakshina Kannada are fighting tooth and nail against the Yettinahole Project, which they are told will feed water to only dry districts of the state such as Kolar and Chikkaballapur. But, what they have never been told so far is the fact that even the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is trying to get its share of cake. To be precise, the BDA is making all attempts possible to get 10TMC water from the Yettinahole Project to meet the drinking water demand of Bengaluru City!
Surprised? Well the full text of Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2031 published by the BDA, which is under rampant criticism for not consulting the general public before finalising the draft has few shockers, which have been kept under wraps till now. Assuming that by 2031 city’s population may cross three crore mark, the BDA wants the state government to divert 10 TMC water from Yettinahole project to Tippagondanahalli Reservoir, which is located on the outskirt of the city to meet the water demands of Bengaluru city.
According to the estimation done by the BDA, by 2031 the city will need 35 TMC water per year to meet the drinking water demands of the city’s population. But, just 24 TMC water can be supplied from Cauvery and other sources and hence it is imperative for the BDA to draw 10TMC from Yettinahole, another 10TMC from Linganamakki and five TMC from Hemavathi project.
However, sources inside the State Water Resource department feel that the BDA’s Master Plan will unleash ecological disaster in the Western Ghats.
“There is no clarity on the availability of water from Yettinahole project. Till now it was told water will be diverted to Kolar and Chikkaballapur. But now the BDA too is trying to get its share,” said a source adding that if such hidden agenda keep cropping up then Netravathi and Western Ghats will be doomed one day.
The people of Dakshina Kannada have since decades been opposing the project on the grounds that the fertile and lush green DK district will turn barren if the project is initiated. These hidden surprises only speak volumes on the devious intentions of the government because so far no government has come out clear on its stand on the Yettinahole project.
