Speaking to Mangalorean.com here today Chairman of the Authority B. Nagaraja Shetty told that the eleven dams will be built at a total cost of Rs. 460 .20 lakhs and they will be completed before March 2010. The largest one will be the one which is built across Nethravati river at Nidgalgrama in Belthangady taluk which costs Rs. 71.10 lakhs he added.
Other ten dams will be constructed at Pilangaru in Kadabettu village in Bantwal taluk at a cost of Rs. 23 lakhs, Bimbila Nadodi in Palthady village in Puttur taluk at Rs. 25 lakhs. Bollikallu in Kanakamajalu village of Sullia Taluk at a cost of Rs. 19 lakhs, and at Miyakatte in Nadugodu village in Mangalore taluk at a cost of Rs. 55 lakhs, Kattathilla in Salethur village in Bantwal taluk at cost of Rs. 29.95 lakhs, and Amkudige village in Kadeshivalaya village at Rs. 29.90 lakhs All these dams were being constructed.
Other dams which are under planning stage includes Parakatta village in Kateel in Mangalore across Nandini at Mangalore Taluk at a cost of Rs. 33 lakhs and another at Puchchadikatta at Delanthabettu village at a cost of Rs. 82.30 lakhs and Sankadakariya at Ulipady village at a cost of Rs. 62 lakhs.
Mr. Shetty hoped that when all these dams are in place the water holding capacity in the district will improve to a great extent and new water shed areas could be developed. Many of these projects help in supplying drinking water as well as for irrigating fields. The actual acreage which will be irrigated had to be determined after the completion of the projects Mr. Shetty added.
There has not been an irrigation programme in the district worth its salt. In fact there was none says the statistics. Both the crops Khariff as well as Rabi were rainfed in the district and the last crop –Kolke is based on residual water left over by the small water bodies of summer. But due to absence of irrigation facilities the district was now losing on Kolke crop and more than 30 per cent of Rabi crop area has been reduced in the recent years. The Dakshina Kannada district has over 37,000 hectares for Khariff, 21,000 hectares for Rabi and only few thousand for Kolke the total output of the district is to the tune of 10,000 MT of cereals (mainly paddy) pulses and vegetables and spices. But it could be more if the district had a series of dams connected to a network of irrigational canals. The series of dams which will be built in the district was the first step towards such a scenario.
source mangalorean.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment