Silvester D’Souza
Daijiworld Media Network - Byndoor (SP)
Byndoor, Nov 25: State minister for minor irrigation, Madhuswamy, said that the ministry of minor irrigation has plans to enrich the underground water table in the state. Towards this end, he said, various schemes have been drawn up, and emphasis is being laid to provide water for agriculture and drinking, through various works.
He was speaking after laying the foundation stone for a vented dam being built at Paduvari, Byndoor, at a cost of Rs 35 crore, on Tuesday November 24.
"We have drawn up a master plan to build 1,348 vented dams in coastal Karnataka at a cost of Rs 3,986 crore for farming and drinking water purposes. Out of them, 446 will come up in Dakshina Kannada and 424 in Udupi. We plan to complete construction of 466 vented dam works within five years," he explained.
Madhuswamy said that water will be collected through the vented dams. The water stored here will be used for drinking water and agriculture. He added that a sum of four crore rupees has been released for the maintenance of planks used in vented dams, and works will be undertaken on priority. The minister said that the people of this area will be able to undertake fishing and prawns culture in tie standing water in the vented dams.
“In order to meet the drinking water requirement of districts in the plains, Yettinahole project is being executed at a cost of Rs 24,000 crore. It will provide 24 tmc of water which will be pumped from the Western Ghats. At the same time, one or two crore rupees would be sufficient to build vented dams across rivers flowing westward where one to two tmc of water can be stored and supplied to the people. The dams can also serve as bridges for the people as they need not take detour as of now," he stated.
MP B Y Raghavendra, said that under the Jaljeevan Mission, it is planned to provide drinking water to all houses in the taluk. He said that projects to support tourism in the area will be executed and steps will be taken to achieve integrated development of Byndoor taluk.
MLA M Sukumar Shetty, said that the taluk has five rivers but the problem of drinking water haunts the people during the summer months. He said that efforts to solve this problem are being made, and expressed happiness at the fact that with the construction of this vented dam, demand for which was being made since several decades, drinking water and agricultural requirements of the people will be met.
Chairman of Coastal Development Authority, Mattaru Ratnakar Hegde, local zilla panchayat members Babu Slhetty, Suresh Batawade, and Shankar Poojary, Kundalpur sub-divisional officer Raju, secretary in minor irrigation department, Mrityunjaya Swamy, and others were present.