Farmers seek early implementation of Mahadayi, Kalasa Banduri Nala project

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Farmers staging a demonstration in Hubballi on Monday, over the Mahadayi issue. | Photo Credit: KIRAN BAKALE

Demanding early implementation of the Mahadayi, Kalasa Banduri Nala project and resolution of the drinking water and irrigation issues facing the region, farmers took out a protest march and staged a demonstration in Hubballi on Monday.

Led by farmers’ leader and State president of Raita Sena Karnataka Veeresh Sobaradmath Swami, the farmers first took out a protest march and then staged a demonstration in front of the municipal commissioner’s office in Hubballi and subsequently submitted a memorandum.

Addressing the protesters, Sobaradmath Swami demanded a meeting involving the elected representatives of the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation and officials to discuss the city’s drinking water requirements and the concerns of farmers dependent on the Malaprabha reservoir.

A meeting should be convened within 10 days to discuss the issue and that a clear course of action be decided on the implementation of the Mahadayi project, he demanded.

The memorandum highlighted the long-pending demand for the implementation of the Mahadayi project and sought steps to ensure adequate water for farmers in the Malaprabha command area. The organisation said farmers had been agitating for several years over the issue and urged the authorities to take up the matter with the State and Union governments.

It said the Malaprabha project was originally constructed to provide irrigation facilities to farmers in the region. It sought details from the civic authorities regarding the quantity of water being supplied to Hubballi-Dharwad and to industries, besides information on the arrangements and revenue collected in connection with the supply.

In the memorandum, the farmers’ organisation maintained that it had no objection to supplying drinking water to the twin cities but insisted that the interests of farmers in the Malaprabha command area should also be protected.

The memorandum referred to the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal award and stated that Karnataka had been allocated 13.42 TMC of water, including 3.09 TMC for drinking water purposes. It urged the authorities to take necessary steps for utilisation of the allocated water. The farmers would continue their agitation peacefully until their demands were addressed, the memorandum said.

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