Bengaluru: Tungabhadra Dam in Hosapete, Vijayanagar district, near Ballari, is one of Karnataka’s main dams. However, it is claimed that the dam water is highly polluted as a result of untreated industrial waste discharged into the river and excessive chemical use in paddy cultivation. The colour of the dam water has turned green as proof of this claim.
According to the authorities as on Friday evening, the storage at the dam was 98.51 TMC of water.
One of the popular proverbs in Kannada is Ganga Snana and Tunga Snana (a bath in the river Ganga and drinking holy water of river Tunga is considered as pious). However, now the Tunga river water is polluted to such an extent that it is better not to drink it.
According to the local residents, for the last few days, the colour of the water is changed to dark green. This has created tension among the people as the dam water is the main source used for drinking, and for cattle beside for the paddy fields.
‘Not a new phenomenon’
According to the locals, the colour of the water changing to green is not a new phenomenon. “Now it has become a common problem. Wherever the inflow to the dam increase, the colour turns green. The water smell is also bad,” explained Rajugauda, a local resident.
“It looks like the industrial waste is affecting the quality of water,” he said.
Officials informed that they are collecting the samples and send for lab investigation.
