Siddu convenes all-party meeting over Kalasa-Banduri

 Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has convened a meeting of the leaders of all political parties in the State legislature on Saturday to discuss the vexed issue of Kalasa-Banduri water project.

The chief minister has convened the meeting to elicit the views of the leaders on the future course of action to be taken by the government on the issue. More than 35 organisations, including farmers’ associations, have been agitating, demanding the implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri drinking water project.

The meeting will be held at the chief minister’s home office ‘Krishna’ at 3.30 pm.
The project seeks to improve drinking water supply to the districts of Belagavi, Dharwad and Gadag. It involves building barrages across Kalasa and Banduri, two tributaries of the Mahadayi river, to divert 7.56 tmc to the Malaprabha river. Maharashtra and Goa have raised objections, resulting in a delay in implementing the project.

All three major parties, the Congress, the BJP and the JD(S), are indulging in a blame game on the issue. While the ruling Congress is blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not making efforts to resolve the issue through talks, the BJP has accused Siddaramaiah of politicising it. The BJP wants the ruling Congress to convince its party leaders in Goa and Maharashtra to allow Karnataka to implement the project. The JD(S) has been blaming both the national parties and demanded that the chief minister take the initiative for holding talks with his counterparts in the neighbouring states.

Siddaramaiah had convened an all-party meet on August 23 and decided to take a delegation to the prime minister, seeking his intervention for an out-of-court settlement.Leader of the Opposition Jagadish Shettar and JD(S) floor leader H D Kumaraswamy confirmed that they will be attending.