VIJAYAPURA: “Why are you always bothered about Cauvery and keep quiet when it comes to issues like the Krishna water dispute in North Karnataka? Do you know how much the farming community suffers here? And about the escalating cost of the the Upper Krishna Project-III due to the delay in issue of notification by the Centre to raise the height of the Almatti reservoir?” Harish, a driver, asked mediapersons.
This graduate is among many others who are of the opinion that those in South Karnataka do not take the Krishna river dispute seriously. The cost of the Upper Krishna Project-III has jumped from Rs 17,207 crore in 2012 to Rs 50,500 crore in 2016.
The delay in issuing a notification to heighten the Almatti reservoir level from 519.60 metres to 524.256 metres has escalated the project cost. Even after Krishna Tribunal-II award was passed in 2010 to utilise 130.90 tmcft of water, it could not be utilised by Karnataka because the Central government is yet to issue a notification.
There are legal hurdles too. One is that Karnataka has to withdraw the appeal filed before the Supreme Court against the tribunal award. The other is that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana should resolve their internal disputes and share the water allocated to then undivided Andhra Pradesh.
The legal hurdles, however, has not stopped the Water Resource Department from taking up works on a warfooting to complete all the nine projects under UKP-III, said M B Patil, Minister for Water Resources. Major works like pumphouse, raising main, lead canal, delivery chamber, electromechanical works and sub-station works are almost complete. The notification is expected to be issued within six months. Immediately after this, the distribution canals will be constructed, Patil said.
If the height of the reservoir is increased, about 20 villages will be submerged apart from a lot of land. However, the nine projects taken up under UKP-III will provide water to 5.30 lakh hectares in Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Raichur, Koppal and Gadag in North Karnataka.