JOIN USIt is going to be a momentous occasion for the farmers of Bagalkot who had shown their power to the ruling class by building a barrage without the help of the government.
On January 31, farmers of Jamakhandi of Bagalkot district and Athani taluk of Belagavi district would be celebrating the silver jubilee of the Chikkapadasalagi barrage. It is billed as the “people’s unique irrigation project” and it is a first of its kind project in the country.
Krishna Theera Raitha Sangha, whose secretary is Congress MLA and former union minister Siddu Nyamagouda, took the self-help route in 1989 to build the barrage across river Krishna as farmers badly needed water to save water-intensive crops like sugar cane.
When the government did not extend a helping hand, the barrage was constructed by raising Rs 90 lakh from farmers, to irrigate 35,000 acres.
It was built in a record time of 11 months. Later, the government chipped in with Rs 25 lakh.
Nyamagouda, at a press conference here on Wednesday, said now the height of the dam has been increased from 7 mt to 9.75 mt and impounding capacity has gone up from 2.8 tmc ft to 4.3 tmc ft.
Farmers raise Rs 11 crore
Last year, Rs 11 crore was pooled in by farmers to increase the capacity of the barrage, he added.
The MLA said that every year Karnataka is purchasing two tmc ft of water worth Rs two crore from Maharashtra to meet the summer demand in the villages of Bagalkot
district.
Henceforth, there would be no need to purchase water as the barrage would be storing more water, he added.
To celebrate the 25th year of the people’s initiative, a series of programmes will be organised at Jamakhandi from January 31. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, member of parliament B S Yeddyurappa and Congress leader Digvijay Singh will be participating in various programmes to mark the occasion.