SAGAR (SHIVAMOGGA): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to solve the dispute over sharing water of the river Mahadayi and help the state implement the Kalasa-Banduri irrigation project.
He told the media here that Mr Modi should invite the Chief Ministers of Karnataka and Goa for a dialogue and arrive at an amicable settlement of the dispute. The project was proposed to provide drinking water to parched towns of north Karnataka, and the same was conveyed to Mr.Modi.
The Chief Minister, however, disagreed with state BJP president Prahlad Joshi’s suggestion to lead an all party delegation to Goa to sort out the problem, saying this would not be possible.
Mr Siddaramaiah assured that his government was committed to completing of the long pending Kalasavalli-Ambargodlu bridge across Sharavathy backwaters to connect Sagar and Sigandur.
Speaking after launching various development works worth Rs.60 crore and distributing certificates under various government programmes, he said people of Malnad region were demanding completion of the proposed bridge for decades. Leaders of the previous BJP government had unveiled the foundation stone but did not earmark any funds for the project. On the other hand, his government has estimated that the project would cost '200 crore and assured that the government would arrange funds from its treasury in an effort to meet the demand of people of Malnad, he added. In response to Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa’s plea, Mr Siddaramaiah assured that he had discussed with the deputy commissioner and forest officials regarding implementation of the Forest Rights Act and those eligible would get title deeds soon.
