Deccan Herald - State SOS to Centre on Hogenakal

State SOS to Centre on Hogenakal

DH News Service,Bangalore:

The State government has sought the immediate intervention of the Union government over the controversial drinking water projects taken up by the Tamil Nadu government at Hogenakal falls which is threatening to snowball into another inter-state row.

The State government’s move comes in the wake of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi strongly defending the project and warning Karnataka against coming in the way of it.
“We have urged the Centre to immediately interfere on the issue and resolve the matter. I have written a letter to the Union Water Resource Ministry in this regard,” Karnataka Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao told reporters in Bangalore on Monday.
The State political parties, meanwhile, reacted sharply condemning Karunanidhi’s statement. The BJP, which is up in arms right from the beginning, went a step ahead saying it is contemplating taking legal action against TN government. “Karnataka is under the President’s rule. So our party is planning to wage a legal battle against TN government to protect the State’s interest. The way ahead will be finalised when the party national leader Arun Jaitely arrives in Bangalore on April 5,” BJP Spokesperson Suresh Kumar said.
Hogenakal is a sensitive issue. By raking it up, Karunanidhi is trying to reap political benefit, which would harm the national integration. Hence, the Prime Minister should not only advise Karunanidhi against issuing such statements but direct him to immediately stop implementing the controversial drinking water project, he stated.
Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, seeking the Centre’s intervention, said the TN CM’s statement may create law and order problem and warned Karunanidhi against provoking the “sentiments” of people of Karnataka.

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Comments

by MS Saroj on 4/3/2008 10:44:10 PM

The Hogenakal project under present plan has nothing in common to 1998 proposed scheme.it involves huge irrigation and pwere component and is in violation of Cauvery triunal's order and hence to be rejected by center till a elected govt comes into office in Karnataka.Tamilnadu govt has delayed this project from 1998 and should wait for few more months.Also the proposed project to link cauvery and vaigai river thro 250 km canal will take away Karnataka share

the Hogenakal project

by janardhan srinivas on 4/3/2008 10:28:47 PM

Karunanidhi's governament wants to hide lot of information between 1998 understanding between tamilnadu,Karnataka and Center.At that time it was a purely drinking waterproject to cater to needs of few towns in Dharmapuri district costimg less than 100 crores of rupees.This project if reuired as a neceessity should have been taken up and completed much earlier at the same time as fourth stage of Bangalore water supply project.The present Hogenakal scheme has big irrigation and power generation.