Karnataka

Replenishment of Soolekere demanded

DAVANGERE: Scores of farmers and achacutdars of the Soolekere tank in Chennagiri taluk, under the aegis of Soolekere Hitharakshana Samithi, have disconnected the water supply from the tank to Chitradurga town on Friday. The agitators, led by Tejasvi Patel, member of the samithi, laid seige to the pump house and staged a dharna there.

Mr. Patel told The Hindu that they wanted the Government to take immediate steps to pump water into the tank either with river water or from some other source. The agitators argue that the Government had sanctioned a slew of projects to provide water from the tank to many cities and villages but had failed to take steps to replenish water in the tank.

Though the agitating farmers and achacutdars were not opposed to supplying drinking water to other cities and villages, they argue that there should be some mechanism by which water is pumped into the tank from some other source and it remains full all the time.

In fact had the Government not been pumping water into Soolekere tank from Bhadra branch canal at regular intervals, the tank would have gone dry. But the tank is a massive one and is said to be the second largest tank in Asia. As huge quantity of water was being pumped from the tank to several villages and cities, even the water from the Bhadra branch canal does not seem to be sufficient to replenish the tank. The agitators state that in all probability the farmers and achacutdars of Bhadra branch canal would also start agitation because they are already complaining that they are not getting their share of water from Bhadra branch canal.

It would not be a surprise if they blamed the achacutdars of Soolekere for depriving them of water, Mr. Patel said.

So, the samithi had proposed two projects to the Government to replenish water from Tungabhadra river. They had suggested that water should be lifted from the Tungabhadra near Sasvehalli village in Honnali taluk and it should be pumped into the tank at regular intervals. But, the Government paid no heed.

Mr. Patel said that the Government had approved another project under which a cluster of villages in Chennagiri taluk would be supplied water from the tank.

The samithi would continue the agitation till the Government responded positively, he said.

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