Ready to sacrifice lives; but, won't allow Netravati diversion'

Mangalore, June 19: “We are ready to sacrifice our lives, but will not allow to divert River Nethravathi, the lifeline of coastal districts of Karnataka,” said Rohitaksha Rai, DK district unit President of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha.

Like Mr Rai, a number of local activists, experts and representatives of the people expressed their strong opposition to controversial 'Netravati Diversion Project' at a meeting convened on Sunday, here, by Nethravathi Balakedarara Vedike, a forum of the river users.

The problems faced by farmers and fishermen community in Dakshina Kannada would double along with worsening of the drinking water scarcity if the proposed project was implemented, warned former MLA Vijayakumar Shetty, who suggested a strong apolitical movement against the project.

S G Mayya, professor, Department of Applied Mechanics and Hydraulics, National Institute of Technology - Karnataka, Surathkal, said that the people of this coastal district should be very cautious at this juncture as the government had been trying to mislead people in this issue.

Surendra Rao, a Bantwal based activist, pointed out that the government of Karnataka, in its agriculture budget for 2011-12, had mentioned that it had reserved Rs 200 crore for “making water available” to parched districts from the Yettinahole canal.

“The government had masked the name of the Nethravati by calling it Yettinahole. People unfamiliar with the Western Ghats would not know that Yettinahole was a major tributary of the Nethravati,” he said.

Mr Mayya said that the river diversion project is not only unscientific and impractical but also is ecologically unsustainable and socio-economically inequitable. He pointed out that the G S Paramashivaiah Committee, which had raised the proposal of river diversion for the first time, too had no clear concept of the project.

The advocates of the project say that the 'excess' water of the river can be utilised for better purposes, as a large quantity of the Netravati water is going to Arabian Sea. Mr Mayya said that such arguments doesn't make any sense because when the coast is parched for eight months in a year, the government must be providing water to the downstream rather than planning to divert water.

“River water must flow to sea. Why are we forgetting aquatic life? Fishermen will be in trouble if the inflow to sea reduces,” he said.

Janata Dal (Secular) State unit secretary M G Hegde, convenor of the Vedike PV Mohan, secretary of the National Fish Workers' Forum Vasudev Boloor and Kannada activist Annaiah Kulal were present among others in the meeting. The Vedike at the end of the meeting decided to write to Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat and Mangalore City Corporation to pass resolution urging the government to drop the project.