TN pushes Hogenakal project

Tamil Nadu has taken up the Hogenakal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation project to provide Cauvery drinking water to Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.

Karnataka has been alleging that the neighbouring state is utilising 2.1 tmc ft water against the original project plan of 1.4 tmc ft utilisation. Besides, the Karnataka government is insisting examining the inter-state implications of the project as it is located right within the disputed boundary area. What may raise Karnataka’s hackles is that work is on in full swing here. Three huge pits are in the process of being dug on the river course abutting Hogenakal village on the left bank of the Cauvery. The objective is to set up headworks from where water will be lifted.

For instance, at Madam, about 11 kilometres from here, work on construction of a master balancing reservoir and treatment plant continue at a brisk pace. The plan is to draw Cauvery waters from Hogenakal and pump it to Madam where it will undergo treatment.

Subsequently, the treated water will be supplied across Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts for drinking purposes. Between Hogenakal and Madam, two booster pumping stations are under construction. Trees and shrubs along the Dharmapuri-Hogenakal road are being cleared to pave the way for laying of pipes. For the public, entry to the project site is strictly prohibited.

Tamil Nadu government officials are tight-lipped about the project for which the foundation stone was laid in 2008. After much coaxing, an official told Deccan Herald on condition of anonymity that about 20 to 25 per cent of the project work had already been completed. 

“We have instructions to implement the project on a war footing. We have been asked to complete at least 60 per cent of the project by this year end though the deadline for completion is 2012,” the official said.