Mangaluru: Almost five years after the controversial Yettinahole project was brought into existence, a much-needed public hearing was conducted by the Karnataka State government representatives and the district administration in the presence of a large number of people representing various environmental, as well as social organizations here in the city on Saturday, September 19.
The intense discussion was held at DK district Zilla Panchayat hall. It also saw the participation of irrigation experts, activists, and the media.
The discussion began with DC Ibrahim briefing the gathering and beginning the session with a presentation by the Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited; however, the agitated crowd that had been protesting against the project for months now interrupted him. They declared that they just want their questions to be answered and added, “We need no more presentations and want our answers.”
One among the activists said, “We have gathered here in the Netravati auditorium and we request that the heritage of Karavali – River Netravati should live in order for us to survive.”
MP Nalin Kumar was in support of the activists and questioned the state ministers for not bringing the matter to his consent before implementation and he welcomed the government’s interaction program.
“The hospitality of the people of Karavali is such that whenever an outsider enters the house we offer them water, because water is a gift of god and we need to share it. However, what the Congress government is trying to do is merely unscientific. This will not only destroy Dakshina Kannada district, but the entire environmental region of the western ghats”, an activist said.
Sahyadri Samrakshana Sanchaya Samithi activists stated that we all pay tax and that the 13000 Crores worth project is people’s money – they further questioned as to whether the government will give them in writing that if the project fails they will return the money, to which the representatives had no reply.
The representatives of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd (KNNL) were battered from all sides and contradicting questions were put forth. One among them, an activist said, that as per the DPR report, all regions of Yettinahole state that 6280 mm is the total rainfall that is calculated to 24.1 TMC, however, IISC states that the rainfall is 4880 mm but the officials still claimed that the available water is around 23 TMC. He further questioned as to how it is possible that whatever study is conducted the TMC does not change.
After a much prolonged discussion, the KNNL representatives showed slight agreement that the DPR had some errors.
“The Yettinahole project was another mega project on the lines of the Varahi Irrigation Project in Udupi district. It took 35 years to complete just the first phase of the Varahi Irrigation project, and it will fail, which is a total waste of tax payers money”, expressed an activist.
Renowned expert S.G. Mayya, former professor, Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics, National Institute of Technology – Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal raised several issues and produced facts on this; he also gave a warning that if this project is implemented, the future of the district is doomed.
He said “Kolar, Chikkaballapur and other districts require 5 TMC water from the year 2020 onwards, according to the reports, and for this is it required to divert the west flowing river. Nevertheless, there are alternative methods that can be considered.”
The debate went to an extreme, when some of the environmentalists started making allegations against the Congress government and said, “The Congress government and CM Siddaramaiah are harassing the people of this district.” In revolt, the representatives of Congress gathered around for a heated argument.
In reaction to all this, the district-in-charge minister Ramanath Rai and MP Nalin Kateel warned that the discussion needs to be apolitical or else will be boycotted.
The activists claimed and asked the KNNL representatives on how the data was gathered and what methodology was used to prepare the DPR, and counter argued on the data KNNL presented during the discussion.
All the activists welcomed and appreciated the district administrations move on holding the interaction program after much delay, and requested the elected representatives to be in support to drop this unscientific project and save the river Netravati, the life line of Dakshina Kannada.
Concluding the meeting, the ministers suggested that around 5 to 10 representatives – each representing their organizations may submit their names to the DC – after which, a follow-up meeting will be scheduled within the next 15 days. The committee can have a one on one discussion with the irrigation experts.
