Farmers want Almatti dam height to be raised; plan stir on June 30

Vijayapura: Farmers’ organisations have decided to launch a massive stir on June 30, in support of their demands pertaining to River Krishna.   

They are demanding that the government should increase the height of Almatti dam from 519.6 metres to 524.25 metres and take steps to utilise the state’s full share of the Krishna water.

They have urged the Centre to declare the Upper Krishna project as a national 
project. 

At a meeting here, the organisations criticised the opposition by Maharashtra to increase the dam height. 

The organisations said that the state government should not buckle under pressure from the neighbbouring state and must begin works to increase the dam height to 524.25 metres, as per the award of the Krishna water tribunal.

A committee of experts appointed by the Maharashtra government had, in 2019, submitted a report saying that the Almatti backwaters were not responsible for floods in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, leaders who addressed the meeting said. Yet, Maharashtra was blaming the backwaters for the floods, they added.