Water release for irrigation into Vishveswaraya Canal (VC) of Krishnarajasagara reservoir (KRS) for feeding the atchkat (irrigated area) on the downstream of Hulikere tunnel will commence in the first week of August.

K Jaiprakash, Managing Director, Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Ltd, said that at present we have taken up the rehabilitation works of the damaged Hulikere tunnel and it will be completed before July 31.

The Vishveswaraya Canal is 45.60 km in length and includes the 2.8-km-long Hulikere tunnel. On the exit side of the tunnel, the main canal branches off into two main branches – Maddur branch and the Cauvery branch. It further branches off into Shimsha, Kowdle, Keragodu and New Maddur branch canals to irrigate a planned atchkat of about 1.6 lakh acres.

In addition to this, link canal, Lokasara, Hebbakavadi and Thuraganur branch canals are in the reach upstream of the Hulikere tunnel and the planned atchkat under these canals is 36,000 acres. Vishveswaraya canal is designed for a carrying capacity of 3,050 cusecs with a total atchkat of 1.96 lakh acres.

“The decision to stop water release was taken up in the meeting of the Irrigation Consultative Committee (ICC) held on June 6 and it was decided to take up the rehabilitation works of the damaged Hulikere tunnel on urgent basis,” Jaiprakash.

Water release depends on the storage position of the reservoir. This has been brought to the notice of the farmers and the general public by the district in-charge minister, Mandya and also the Chairman, ICC, KRS through the print and visual media.

Farmers associations ‘Hasiru Sene’ and ‘Raitha Sangha’ staged a protest on July 3 and blocked the Bangalore–Mysore highway, demanding release of water into the atchkat on the downstream side of the Hulikere tunnel.

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