Karnataka - Bangalore

Steps sought to check erosion

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: N. Yogish Bhat (BJP) on Friday urged the State Government to take immediate steps to protect coastal towns such as Suratkal, Mulki and Kaup from erosion.

Participating in the debate in the Legislative Assembly on flood-related damage, Mr. Bhat said erosion had become a perennial natural calamity, and a large area along the coast was being gradually submerged. Many coastal towns would be cut off from the mainland and would become islands in a few years, he warned.

Mr. Bhat also highlighted other rain- and flood-related problems in Dakshina Kannada district, such as disruption in power supply due to falling trees snapping power lines. There was also the danger of people being electrocuted if they came into contact with the snapped lines.

Added to this, he said, huge trenches had been dug on both the sides of national and state highways for laying pipelines or cables. These water-filled trenches were potential death traps for pedestrians and motorists, he said.

He urged the State Government to take steps to combat erosion and not to wait for the Centre to act. He also accused the Union Government of being insensitive to the serious problem along the coast.

Mr. Bhat opposed the proposal to divert west-flowing rivers such as the Nethravati to provide water to drought-prone districts such as Kolar, Chitradurga, Hassan and Tumkur.

The project would increase the salinity of groundwater in the coastal areas, apart from causing other problems, he said.

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