Congress to restart Mekedatu foot march on Feb 27

The Congress will resume the Mekedatu foot march from February 27, Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said on Friday.

The 'Namma Neeru, Namma Hakku' campaign had to stop abruptly on January 13 due to the third wave of Covid-19.

"We're resuming the campaign from February 27. We will resume from Ramanagara where we had stopped," Siddaramaiah told reporters. "We had stopped it as our concern was that we shouldn't add to the spread of the coronavirus."

Congress leaders will walk from Ramanagara to Bengaluru for five days starting February 27. "We will conclude it at the National College grounds (in Basavanagudi)," Siddaramaiah said.

The campaign aims to mount pressure on the BJP government to implement the Mekedatu project. The project involves constructing a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu to regulate the flow of water to Tamil Nadu and utilise 4.75 tmc water for Bengaluru. It also proposes a 400 MW hydroelectricity plant.

The Congress had started the foot march on January 9 at the Sangama. Party leaders reached Ramanagara, covering a distance of 60 km, when they had to stop. The march was heavily criticised as it drew large crowds at a time when Covid-19 cases were spreading fast. Several Congress leaders involved with the march also tested positive for the virus around the time.

Check out DH's latest videos: