JOIN USIn reply to a query raised by JD(S) legislator K P Bache Gowda at the Assembly, Karjol said of the 35 lakes in Chikkaballapur Assembly constituency, 30 have been encroached upon.
Long list
The minister also furnished a list of the names of the encroached lakes and said the government was taking steps to take possession of the encroached land. The work will be taken up depending on the availability of funds.
In reply to another question, Karjol told Congress legislator U T Khader that the government was unable to take up desilting of canals connecting to the rivers in Dakshina Kannada due to paucity of funds.
Cost to clean
The estimated cost to desilt a canal from Doomavathi temple to Mooruthodu mosque in Kandavar village of Mangalore taluk is Rs 32.50 lakh. A sum of Rs five lakh has been spent so far, he said.
Khader, Abhayachandra Jain and others from the coast told the minister that sea salt water was getting mixed with rivers in Dakshina Kannada due to lack of barricades.
This was severely hampering agriculture activities. Even minister Krishna Palemar acknowledged the problem.