Mangaluru: “Water tanks in Kolar district were in good condition during the British rule. However, they began deteriorating after Independence due to poor maintenance. If the Yettinahole project is executed, Dakshina Kannada would suffer like Kolar in a decade,” Dinesh Holla, Convener of Sahyadri Samrakshana Sanchaya said.
He presented a report on ‘Action Research and Revival of Tank System in Kolar’, which was prepared at the behest of the state government in 1997, at a press meet here on Monday, November 3. According to the report, the tank maintenance system which included disposal of tank silt during summer season by the farmers for their agricultural lands, distribution of tank water for irrigation by Neeraganties, Thoties, Thalavaras etc, effecting minor repairs to tank bunds and other such measures were completely ignored after Independence. This led to the deterioration of the tank system. Currently, almost all the tanks in Kolar are in a very bad condition. As a result of this, farmers crave for water, but existing tanks are not able to meet their growing needs.
“As tank maintenance was neglected, rich farmers started digging borewells. They used to get water to a tune of five to six thousand gallons by digging wells to a depth of 100 to 120 feet. This tempted other farmers too to dig borewells and even the government provided huge subsidy for this activity. As a result, the underground water table that stood at the level of 40 feet in 1965 declined to 400 feet in the year 1992 in Kolar,” he explained.
“By this, we can infer that the situation today, in coastal belt of Karnataka, was the same as it was in Kolar in the year 1997. By taking up such projects, in a decade or two, even Dakshina Kannada would face the problem of the same gravity. Underground water table level in Mangaluru in 2004 was 9.8 metres, and as of now, it is at 17.8 metres according to a survey by district administration,” Holla pointed out.
Activist Dinesh Pai, adding to this, stated that the report had clearly mentioned that by spending 877 crore, removal of silt and revival of tanks was possible and that the water crisis in Kolar and other drought-hit districts could be resolved.
Rajesh Devadiga, Madhava Holla, Shashidhar Shetty and others were present at the press meet.
