Mangalore: Activists debate over Nethravati project; call for a mass movement

Mangalore, Sep 29: Several like-minded organisations came together on Sunday to debate and discuss the next course of action to prevent the Nethravati river diversion project from being implemented by the state government.

In a discussion of several activists and like-minded citizen representatives with the motto of'Let's Save Nethravati', people were called on to bring in awareness among citizens regarding the ambitious and equally-disastrous project proposed to be implemented in the Western Ghats.

H A Kishore Kumar, lawyer-activist and president of Malnad Janapara Horata Vedike, said that by touting it as a drinking water project to supply water to the parched districts of the state including Kolar, Chickballapur and Tumkur, the government and elected representatives were trying mislead the people of Dakshina Kannada. By calling it a drinking water scheme, the project bypasses stringent forest norms and environmental clearances from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, he said.

Briefing outlining the technical aspects of the project, he said that the project proposed to divert excess floodwaters (24.01 TMC) from the streams and rivulets of the Kumaradhara and Nethravati, out of the total water available (34 TMC) in the river. However, it is doubtful whether even 24 TMC of water will be available in the streams throughout the year. While the government envisions building eight dams across the five streams originating in the Western Ghats, a situation may arise requiring more dams to be built across other tributaries of Netravathi to fulfill the water requirement as demand for water increases, he said.

œThere are all possibilities of the Nethravati drying up as a result of the project. Nadiya saavu nishchita (the death of the river is definite),  warned Mr Kumar.

He said that the government and the policy-makers, i.e. the elected representatives must debate over the project in depth. If the project has to be shelved, a huge movement is necessary, along with awareness among all citizens in the district and state, he said, adding that the government should strongly consider alternate measures to rejuvenate the water sources in the parched districts, on the lines of water conservation and management in Rajasthan.

On the occasion, Ustad Syed Yahya Thangal Madani, Khateeb, Bolangadi Jumma Masjid and Swami Rajashekharanand of Vajradehi Mutt, Gurupura, called on people to come forward to start a people's campaign to protect and preserve the Nethravati river, which was the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada.

Congress leader Vijaykumar Shetty, stressing on the need for strong opposition in the implementation of the Nethravati diversion project, said that the government had not fulfilled its promise of holding talks with activists and citizens of the district with regard to the controversial project.

Claiming that the officials had proposed the ambitious project with the sole intention of making money, he said that the National Green Tribunal should be approached to halt the implementation of the project.

Several representatives including activists Dinesh Holla and M G Hegde, former airport director M R Vasudeva, Niranjan Rai from Uppinangady, Dr Srinivas Kakkilaya and others were present on the occasion.