Siddaramaiah writes to Maharashtra CM Fadnavis, seeks 3 tmc ft of water for North Karnataka districts

Belagavi: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah wrote a letter on Tuesday to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis, requesting to release 3 tmc ft of water to rivers Krishna and Bhima from the Koyna/Warna and Ujjani dams to meet the drinking water needs of humans and livestock in north Karnataka districts.

In the letter, Siddaramaiah said Belagavi, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Raichur districts were facing severe shortage of drinking water since the beginning of March.

The situation was becoming serious with rising temperatures and dipping storage levels in the Hipparagi barrage and other dams, the letter said. 

“We request you to direct the authorities concerned to release at least 2 tmcft from Warna/Koyna reservoir to river Krishna and 1 tmc ft from Ujjini reservoir to river Bhima to meet the immediate drinking water needs of humans and livestock,” the CM said in the letter.