Farmers in Dakshina Kannada district have urged the Government not to implement the Yettinaholey project, as they fear it will have adverse impact on agriculture in the district.

Under the Yettinaholey project, the Karnataka Government is planning to divert Yettinaholey (a tributary of River Nethravathi that is the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district) to Chikballapur and Kolar districts.

Participating in a meeting to discuss the issues related to the problems of farmers in the district, organised by the Dakshina Kannada district administration, Ravikirana Punacha, a representative of Raitha Sangha (farmers’ organisation), said that the Government wants to divert 25 TMC of water to other districts under the Yettinaholey project.

“First tackle the problems of farmers in Dakshina Kannada, and then think about supplying water to other region,” he said.

Stating that a major part of the production cost of farm products in the region is the cost of water, he said nearly 80 per cent of farming activities are dependent on the River Nethravathi. Farmers face water shortage to carry out their activities during summer months, he said.

Stressing upon the need for a scientific evaluation of water flow in the river, he said: “We would not have faced problem during summer months, if we were in a position to supply 25 TMC of water to other districts.”

He said the Government is ready to spend ₹12,000 crore on the river diversion project, and its success is not assured. However, there is no focus on streamlining water supply issues to farmers in Dakshina Kannada district, Punacha said.

The Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, AB Ibrahim, who presided over the meeting, assured the farmers that a special meeting will be convened to discuss this issue in detail. Experts and the officials concerned will be invited for that meeting, he said.

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