'Farmers who lost land are neglected'

Thumbe Anekattu Santhrastha Horata Samithi and Bantwal Raitha Sangha Hasiru Sene have alleged that the district administration and the elected representatives have been neglecting farmers whose land got submerged after water from Netravati in Thumbe dam was stored up to 5 metre. These farmers have not been compensated, the Samithi alleged.

"MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazeer's claim that 50% of the survey of the submerged land has been completed is far from the truth. The High Court in its order on January 16, 2016 had clearly directed the MCC to carry out the survey in a transparent manner in the presence of the landowners and furnish written details to the farmers. The court had also asked to furnish details on the submerged land to the Central Water Commission. However, the court's direction has not been followed," Sangha president M Subrahmanya Bhat said.

"Instead of storing the water in the dam for seven metres, it would be better if two separate dams with a height of five metres each are constructed 10 km away from Thumbe to help in increasing the groundwater table," he said.

A lack of farsightedness in implementing the project has affected farmers in six villages, he added.