Date:08/08/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/08/08/stories/2008080856301000.htm

Karnataka

Kolar residents look to the hills for drinking water

Vishwa Kundapura

Varthur Prakash plans to construct two mini check dams on Antaragange Betta

The project is expected to boost the groundwater table
Water table in the region has dipped to about 1,000 feet

HILL OF HOPE: A view of Shatashringa hill tracts on which construction of two dams has been proposed.

KOLAR: A project conceived by MLA Varthur Prakash has raised hopes among residents of Kolar town about supply of drinking water. A proposal to construct two mini check dams on Antaragange Betta in the Shatashringa hill tracts is expected to infuse more life into the drinking water source, thus helping to solve the perennial drinking water woes of the town.

Mr. Prakash, who is chairman of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board, visited the hill region a few days ago along with officials of the board to scout for the ideal locations for the construction of dams.

”Harvesting rainwater, which is flowing wastefully from the slopes of rocky hill area, is the idea behind putting up dams across two hills on Antaragange Betta,” Mr Prakash told The Hindu. Antaragange Betta is about six km from Kolar town. “Though there are no perennial water sources in this stony hill tract, the rainwater can be used effectively by storing it,” he said.

Initially, it has been planned to build two dams near Kuppalli village at a cost of Rs. 5 crore. According to an estimate, the rainwater stored in these dams would be enough to supply to Kolar town for nearly one year.

Recharging water table

Under the proposed plan, water stored at the dams will be released through pipelines to Ammerahalli and Maderahalli tanks, two of the major drinking water sources of the town.

Water will be purified at the plants and supplied to households. The project is expected to boost the ground water table in a radius of five km.

“This will create an ideal condition for recharging of the dried up tubewells in the region,” said Nanjundappa, a farmer of Kondarajanahalli.

The water table in the region has dipped to about 1,000 feet rendering the water non-potable owing to flouride and other arsenic contents.

Priority

If the dam project is realised, it, along with much ambitious Yergol project, will go a long way in solving the water needs of the town.

“I will not spare any avenue that will helpful in getting water to the people of my constituency which remained backward solely due to water problem”. Compensation will be paid according to government valuation to owners whose land will be submerged by the backwaters of these dams, Mr Prakash added.