Minister urges CM to get Koyna water for State

Kannada and Culture Minister Umashree on Wednesday urged Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to hold talks with the Maharashtra government for release of three tmc ft of water from Koyna dam to River Krishna for meeting the drinking water requirements of Bagalkot district in the State.

Umashree, who met Siddaramaiah, apprised him of the drinking water problem in Bagalkot.

Of late, water level in River Krishna has decreased considerably, leading to shortage of water for irrigation and drinking water purposes. Water table too has depleted, she said.

‘Release essential’

Release of water from Koyna dam is essential for quenching the thirst of people in Bagalkot and surrounding areas, said Umashree, who is an MLA from Terdal constituency in the district.

This apart, a number of Congress and JD(S) MLAs met Siddaramaiah and discussed launching various development projects in their constituencies.

It is learnt that many legislators also informed the chief minister about the plight of people who had been either affected by drought or heavy rains and sought relief for them.

Gomala land

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T B Jayachandra has claimed that the proposal to bring Gomala land (grazing land) under the animal husbandry department was with the intention to protect the land from being used for non-grazing purposes.

He said that a legislation to protect the land, which is being randomly acquired by KIADB and released for industrial purposes by the local Deputy Commissioners (DC), will be introduced in the next legislature session.

He said that directions had been issued to the assistant commissioners (AC) to identify the exact extent of gomala land for protection.