2 months ago
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With the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) according in-principle (stage-1) support for diversion of 111.02 hectares of wood onshore successful Hassan and Tumakuru districts for the Yettinahole Drinking Water Project, officials of Visvesvaraya Jala Nigam Limited are hopeful of supplying h2o from the Western Ghats to Tumakuru territory by October 2026, and completing the task by October 2027, provided funds are made available.
The task aims to supply drinking h2o and capable the tanks successful the drought-prone districts with a full colonisation implicit 75 lakhs.
As per the design, 24.01 tmcft of h2o volition beryllium diverted during the monsoon from 4 streams — Yettinahole, Kadumane Hole, Keri Hole and Hongadahalla. Of this, 14.056 tmcft is earmarked for drinking h2o supply, portion the remaining h2o volition beryllium utilized to capable 527 tanks up to 50% of their capacity.
Approved successful 2012
The task was approved by the Karnataka authorities successful July 2012 astatine an estimated outgo of ₹8,323.5 crore. The outgo was revised successful February 2014 to ₹12,912.36 crore and again successful January 2023 to ₹23,251.66 crore. As of the extremity of February 2026, the cumulative expenditure stood astatine ₹18,205.55 crore.
The task is being executed successful 2 stages. The archetypal stage, assistance component, has been completed. Eight weirs were constructed to pat h2o from the streams. The signifier that has been completed was commissioned successful September 2024. In the lack of the gravity canal, the lifted h2o was temporarily diverted to Vani Vilas Sagar successful Chitradurga district. Over the past 2 years, 3.283 tmcft of h2o has been diverted to the reservoir.
Sannachittaiah, Managing Director of VJNL, told The Hindu connected Friday that successful the 2nd stage, the operation of gravity canal was going on. “Of the 252-km-long canal, enactment connected 208 km has been completed. The enactment connected 25 km is nether progress. We could not tackle the remaining 16 km owed to the wood issue. Now it has been resolved,” said the officer.
The important 16-km agelong passes done Belur, Arsikere taluks of Hassan and Gubbi of Tumakuru. The officials are hopeful of completing the agelong with the practice of different departments and travel h2o up to Tumakuru by October 31, 2026.
“The feeder canals of Madhugiri, Pavagada and Gowribidanur person been completed and the T.G. Halli feeder is 90% complete. We are assured of taking h2o to Tumakuru territory by October,” the MD said. Similarly, if the authorities provided the remaining funds successful 2 years, the task would beryllium completed and radical of Chikkaballapur and Kolar would get drinking h2o by October 2027.
Water availability
Since the commencement of the project, galore person questioned the availability of 24.01 tmcft of h2o from the streams successful the Western Ghats. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) besides questioned the VJNL’s calculation of h2o availability.
The rainfall information collected from the rainfall gauges astatine the weirs successful Sakaleshpur since 2017 projected mean availability of 18 tmcft, which is 6 tmcft little than the designed quantity.
Mr. Sannachittaiah, however, claimed that determination was nary shortage of h2o for drinking h2o purposes. “This is chiefly a drinking h2o project. Whenever determination is excess availability of water, tanks volition beryllium filled up. Anyhow, determination is nary shortage to supply drinking h2o for radical of 6,657 villages successful 29 taluks of 7 districts, too 38 municipality section bodies, covering implicit 75 lakh people,” said the MD.
He added that VJNL has engaged consultants to behaviour a pre-feasibility survey to research further h2o availability astatine the Netravathi and Kumaradhara stream junction to marque up the shortfall of 6 tmcft.
