CM says water will be provided for second crop in Tungabhadra command area

He offers bagina to the river and felicitates engineers and workers for installing stop-log gate in place of Gate No 19 that was washed away

Taking note of the storage of over 101.773 tmcft of water against a total storage of 105.788 tmcft at the Tungabhadra Reservoir, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the dam will provide farmers in the command area in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh with sufficient water for two crops.

He was speaking at a public meeting at Munirabad in Koppal district after offering bagina to the river at the dam, along with Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Cabinet colleagues, on Sunday.

“When Crest Gate No 19 was washed away, our farmers were worried. The Water Resources Minister and I discussed and decided to address the issue immediately. A team of engineers and staff led by crest gate expert Kannaiah Naidu fixed the problem [by installing a stop-log gate in place of the damaged one] within a week and saved over 20 tmcft of water,” he said.

“I, on behalf of my government and the farmers, would like to thank Mr. Naidu and all others who worked day and night to solve the problem. Water available in the reservoir is sufficient for irrigating 9,26,438 acres in Karnataka, 6,25,097 acres in Andhra Pradesh and 87,000 acres in Telangana. I am confident that we can also provide water for a second crop as well,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

The Chief Minister felicitated Kannaiah Naidu (hydro-mechanical engineer) and his team of expert engineers and workers who worked day and night and successfully installed a stop-log gate in place of Gate No 19 which was washed away on August 10.

Mr. Siddaramaiah visited the dam on August 13 to take stock of the restoration work at the damaged Gate No 19. Then, he had exuded the confidence that the problem will be fixed shortly and that the dam will again be full to the brim. He then went on to say that he will visit the dam and offer bagina to the Tungabhadra.

Advice to people

Terming BJP leaders as liars who tell lies every second to mislead the people, Mr. Siddaramaiah appealed to the people not to pay attention to the Opposition.

“The BJP used to tell lies once a day. Now, it is telling lies every second to mislead the people. I am confident that the BJP cannot mislead you by telling lies. For, my heart knows the people of Ballari, Vijayanagara and Koppal. Don’t have faith in the BJP. We will give water to farmers [in the command area] for two crops,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Funds from Centre

Reminding the people of the BJP-led NDA government’s denial for special status to Kalyana Karnataka under Article 371(J) of the Constitution, Mr. Siddaramaiah asserted that it was the Congress-led UPA government that fulfilled the long-pending demand.

“The BJP government at the Centre denied Article 371(J) to the region. However, the demand was met when Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister because of the efforts of Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. We are giving ₹5,000 crore special grants for the development of Kalyana Karnataka. We have demanded that the Union government too should give ₹5,000 crore every year to the region. You can wait and watch whether it will give or not,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said.

Vijayanagara and Ballari district in-charge Ministers B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Koppal district in-charge Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, Raichur in-charge Minister Sharan Prakash Patil, Minor Irrigation Minister N.S. Boseraju, Koppal MP K. Rajashekar Hitnal, Ballari MP E. Tukaram and legislators and bureaucrats from the region were present.

Published - September 22, 2024 08:55 pm IST