Pointing out that river Cauvery was the lifeline of millions of people, former Chief Engineer of State Water Resource Development Organization (WRDO) and irrigation expert Captain S. Raja Rao urged the government to enhance the safety and longevity of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) near Srirangapatna.
He spoke at a panel discussion on land and water issues at the 87th Akhila Kannada Sahitya Sammelana in Mandya on Saturday.
Mr. Raja Rao said, “The KRS was more than a century old. However, in recent times granite quarrying around the dam had emerged as a major issue as it had a bearing on the safety and longevity of the dam.”
He called upon the government to seek the assistance of the National Environmental Engineering Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, and conduct a capacity survey of the KRS. He said this was regarding the number of stone-quarrying units that could be permitted to carry out certain activities like the type of equipment and explosives to be used, the depth of holes to be drilled, and most important of all, the determination of the minimum distance from the dam.
He said that based on the NEERI report the government could decide and permit only such several units with appropriate control measures so that the safety and longevity of the KRS is ensured.
Farmers of the area have aired similar concerns and have sought a complete ban on all quarrying activities around the KRS.
Mr. Raja Rao said though Karnataka was endowed with adequate water resources, their availability for utilisation was subject to the settlement of disputes and the final awards by various river water dispute tribunals. And the only hope for the State to mitigate its water shortage was to harness the west-flowing rivers. The cumulative availability of water in all west-flowing rivers was about 2000 million cubic feet (tmcft). Of which, most of it flows into the Arabian Sea. By diverting the west-flowing rivers to the east, the State can harness at least 100 tmcft.
Another panellist A.V. Patil said the land degradation was taking place at a rapid pace in Karnataka which was bound to affect both soil fertility and crop yield. Citing an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) report, he said nearly seven million hectares of land had degraded in the State, and it was a critical issue on which experts should ponder.
Underling the imperatives of water conservation, Mr. Patil said the quantum of water being wasted was colossal. He called for greater literacy on soil fertility and water conservation among the people.
Published – December 21, 2024 07:09 pm IST