E-Paper
Bhadra project work causing cracks in houses, say villagers
According to officials, the rocks are being blasted for the construction of a canal for implementing the upper Bhadra project taken up by Visveswaraya Jala Nimgam Limited, which aimed to supply water from the Tunga river to the Bhadra reservoir
Mysuru: A group of villagers in Sathkoli of Chikkamagaluru district has claimed that the walls of their houses developed cracks due to blasting of rocks by Visveswaraya Jala Nimgam Limited (VJNL) as part of the Upper Bhadra irrigation project.
According to officials, the rocks are being blasted for the construction of a canal for implementing the upper Bhadra project taken up by VJNL which aimed to supply water from the Tunga river to the Bhadra reservoir.
“Sathkoli village has 80 houses of which 15 houses were affected by rock blasting in canals. The walls of 11 houses developed cracks after blasting started,’’ villager N Chennappa said.
The villagers approached Narasimharajapura JMFC court against the blasts and obtained a stay order. However the court vacated the order three months ago. After that contractors started blasting causing damage to houses. “We are again planning to appeal to higher court against the order of JMFC court,” he added.
The project gained prominence after finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced ₹5,300 crore in the Union Budget 2023 for the Upper Bhadra Project in poll-bound Karnataka. “In the drought-prone central regions of Karnataka, a central assistance of ₹5,300 crore will be given for the Upper Bhadra Project,” she said.
The Upper Bhadra Project is meant to provide micro irrigation to the drought-prone districts of Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Davangere. These are regions where the BJP is struggling to gain traction in the upcoming election.
The major lift irrigation scheme which is under implementation “envisages lifting up to 17.40 TMC of water in the first stage from Tunga to Bhadra and lifting 29.90 TMC of water in the second stage from Bhadra to a tunnel near Ajjampura, in Tungabhadra sub-basin of Krishna basin,” according to the project plan.
Chief minister Basavaraja Bommai had sent a proposal to the union government declaring it as a national project as well.
Now the project has been expedited aimed to provide irrigation to 557,234 acres of agriculture land in Chikkamagaluru, Shivamogga, Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts and would fill 367 lakes in four districts.
Meanwhile, officials have said that the government will pay compensation for any damages caused by the project. “The construction of the canal is going on which is 7.1 meters width at the bottom and 6-8 meters of depth. The contractor is using mild blast materials; if any damage occurred, we would instruct him to bear the cost’’ VJNL executive engineer K Prasanna Kumar said.
“As we planned to complete the construction of the canal before the beginning of the rainy season , more workers were engaged. Due to the speed of work, the walls might be affected,” he added.
