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To be built at an estimated cost of more than Rs 23,000 crore, the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project will benefit 75 lakh people across seven districts of Karnataka. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inugurate its first phase on Friday.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar inspects the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project. (Credit: PTI)
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will today inaugurate the first phase of the Yettinahole project, Karnataka’s mega Rs 23,000 crore plan to provide water to seven districts of the state, including Bengaluru, which is facing a major water crisis.
The inauguration of the Rs 23,251.66 crore Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project will happen in Sakleshpur taluk’s Hebbanahalli. Besides Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar will be present at the inauguration later in the day. Till now, Rs 16,000 crore has been spent by the government in building the initial phase.
The chief minister will turn on the water pumps and motors at Doddanagar in Sakleshpur at around 12.30 pm to kick off the project. He will then perform rituals to ‘Gange’ and dedicate the first phase of the water project.
What areas will be benefited?
Under the project, 24.01 tmc ft of water will be utilized for drinking purposes and to fill tanks across 29 taluks in the districts of Chikkamagaluru, Hassan, Bengaluru Rural, Tumakuru, Ramanagara, Chikkaballapur and Kolar. Reports say that 9.953 tmc ft of water will be used to fill 527 major and minor tanks, while 14.056 tmc ft will be allocated for drinking water.
Broadly, the project will benefit 75 lakh people across 38 towns and 6,657 villages. An engineer involved with the project reportedly stated that the final cost may rise to Rs 28,000 crore till work is completed on the remaining two phases.
Project’s history and opposition
The project was initially known as the Netravathi River Diversion Project but was later renamed the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project. People from various outfits in Dakshina Kannada opposed the project at first, expressing concerns that it would lead to water shortages in their district. However, the government proceeded with the project.
Thousands of acres of land have been acquired for the project across Alur, Arasikere, Sakleshpur, Belur, and other taluks in seven districts. The foundation stone was laid by Veerappa Moily in Chikkaballapur during his tenure as the chief minister. Later, BS Yediyurappa, during his term as chief minister, also visited the project site.
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