Farmer’s problems will be solved in 15 days: MLA Rajegowda

CH NEWS, CHIKKAMAGALUR MLA TD Rajegowda assured that a solution will be found within the next 15 days to the problems faced by local farmers due to the work on the Bhadra Upper River Project. He spoke at a meeting held on Sunday at the community hall of the temple in K. Kanaburu Colony under the jurisdiction of Muttinakoppa Gram Panchayat in the taluk, after listening to the problems and accepting the appeals of the villagers of Doddinatale, Satkoli, Hiregadde, Hosakoppa, Kusubur Colony and Thavareghatta in K. Kanaburu Colony and Kusubur village, which fall under the jurisdiction of the project. The Bhadra Upper River Project was started in 2008-09, and an initial budget of ₹324 crore was allocated for the project to divert water from the Tunga River to the backwaters of the Bhadra reservoir. Later, approval was given for a project to transport water to various areas including Tumkur district and Chikkanayakanahalli through Bayaluseema, he said. 15 crore has already been sanctioned for the works in this section and the work of two bridges has been completed. Another bridge is yet to be constructed. He said that there have been complaints that the work of the road constructed under the Bhadra Upper Bank Project is poor and it has been advised to withhold its bill. He appealed to the villagers to call off the protest for now. On behalf of the farmers, local leader H.S. Ravikumar submitted a petition to MLA TD Rajegowda. Former Zilla Panchayat member PR Sadashiva, BS Subramanya, Koppa APMC President SD Rajendra, former vice president of Muttinakoppa Grama Panchayat Narendra, BRP of Bhadra Meldande project. Office Superintendent Engineer Kavita, Executive Engineer Manjula, Muttinakoppa Office Assistant Executive Engineer Shivamurthy and Assistant Engineer Akshay were present. In the meeting, the villagers explained the problems caused by the Bhadra Upper River Project in various villages of K. Kanaburu Colony and Kusuburu village. In the limits of Muttinakoppa Gram Panchayat, a canal of about 8 km in length, 60 feet deep and 120 feet wide has been constructed. The villagers complained that lakhs of trees have been destroyed and water bodies have been reduced. Damage to houses: About 50 houses have been damaged due to rock explosion, and no compensation has been given so far. They demanded that immediate compensation be provided. Fill the lakes with water: 15 lakes that have dried up due to lack of water should be filled with water from the Tunga River through lift irrigation. The lakes should be dredged. Nine tube wells have dried up, he said, and the problem should be solved. The roads have been completely damaged due to the movement of heavy vehicles for the project work. They requested that a concrete road be constructed. Pipeline installation: They demanded that the necessary pipeline be installed to fill the lakes with water. They demanded that a temple be damaged due to the construction of a canal and that a grant be released for its restoration. “That if the relevant authorities do not respond to the demands of the villagers, a protest will be held near the canal pump house with the villagers and farmers of the Sringeri constituency. TD Rajegowda, MLA”