Plan to divert Hema water to Magadi riles Tumakuru MP

Hassan and Tumakuru districts have been fighting intensely over sharing of the Hemavathi river water. The same had intensified in the Lok Sabha elections.

The bitter fight for water has now spread to the neighbouring Ramanagar district — the home turf of Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar.

The government is planning to build a 95-km-long express canal to Magadi and supply Hemavathi water to the taluk.

BJP parliamentarian from Tumakuru G S Basavaraju on Thursday cautioned the government that if it does not drop the plan, the entire district will start a fight against the government.

Sensing a major scam in the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam’s proposed ‘cleaning up of Hemavathi canal’ across Tumakuru district at a whopping cost of Rs 16 crore, the MP has called for cost audit and demanded that boards be displayed along the canal, about the type of work carried out by the engineers.

Addressing reporters, Basavaraju said, “For several years, we have seen officials raising bill after bill in the name of renovation and cleaning of Hemavathi branch canal in Tumakuru. But this time, the proposed Rs 16-crore project should not go waste and the government must put up boards on the details of works at every kilometre.”

He noted that the proposed express canal to divert water from Tumakuru to Magadi in Ramanagar will leave the already-parched district high and dry.

The MP said, “The remodelling work of Tumakuru branch canal at a cost of Rs 475 cr and express canal or linking canal project at a cost of Rs 614 crore to provide water to Magadi taluk will only jeopardise the livelihood of farmers in Tumakuru district. Taluks in Tumakuru like Chikkanayakanahalli, Gubbi, Turuvekere, Tiptur, Kunigal and Sira are yet to get the promised quantity of water from Hemavathi.”