No water deficit for upstream taluks in Tumakuru district from now: Dy CM’s technical advisor

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 7 (ANI): Technical advisor to Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister, K Jaiprakash, said on Saturday that there won't be any deficit of water for upstream taluks in Tumakuru district in Karnataka by supplying water to Kunigal taluk through the Sriranga Drinking Water Project (Kunigal Express Link Canal).
Speaking to the media after holding a meeting of Cauvery Niravari Nigama Limited, as directed by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, he said, "The Kunigal Express Link Canal project which supplies Hemavathi water to Kunigal taluk will not result in shortage of water for Turuvekere, Gubbi, Chikkanayakahalli, Sira and Tumakuru taluks."
"The objective of this project is to ensure that everyone from 70th km of the canal to 228 km of the canal get their fair share of the water from Hemavathi," he added.
"A total of 3.676 TMC of water was ear-marked for Kunigal taluk over the last 10 years, but only 10.73% of that has flowed to the taluk resulting in a deficit of 89.27%. The Kunigal Express Link canal project will ensure that Kunigal taluk gets its due share without affecting the upstream taluks," he explained.
Explaining further, Jaiprakash said, "Though Kunigal is part of the Cauvery basin, the area isn't getting adequate water, while upstream taluks of Sira and Chikkanayakanahalli are getting adequate amount of water. Hence, a pipeline would ferry water from 70th km of the canal after the Baguru-Navile tunnel and to 166th km of the canal. The length of the pipeline is 34.54 km and can transport 388 cusecs of water. The tender process for the Sriranga drinking water project worth Rs 918.43 crore has been completed on 03.02.2024. The project has achieved a progress of 22.57%."
"In view of the opposition for the project by elected representatives, local leaders, farmers and other organisations of upstream taluks, DCM DK Shivakumar had instructed officials to formulate a technical committee and submit a report. The Committee comprising of four members including a retired Chief Engineer and a Superintending Engineer has submitted its report," he said.
"The report said that an express link, which works on gravitational force, would solve the problem of tail end areas of the canal not getting enough water. This project would help prevent illegal usage of water in the upstream areas of the canal. The Committee has recommended that fitting a flow control switch in Tumakuru to control the flow of the water. The government has studied the report in detail and has accepted it. A Government Order has been issued on October 19, 2024 to complete the project as per the Committee recommendations," he added. (ANI)