Activists and farmers leaders have complained that the State government had released more than twice the amount of water than stipulated for industries from the Hidkal dam in Belagavi district.
The Department of Irrigation, under requests from the Department of Industries has released over 0.229 tmcft. of Ghataprabha river water for industries, against the allocation of 0.1 tmcft. of water from the Raja Lakhamagouda reservoir. The full reservoir capacity is 51 tmcft.
The government’s response has become important in the wake of reports that the department of industries has obtained the release of a further 0.5tmcft. of water from the dam to the Dharwad industrial area.
A Right To Information application by activist Sujit Mulgund has revealed that from the dam State government had released ‘excess water’ to industries. “This is legally and ethically wrong. While the rule says that only 0.1 tmcft. is to be set aside for industries. Secondly, the cities of Belagavi, Bagalkot and en route villages depend on the Hidkal dam for drinking water. In fact, they suffer from water scarcity during summer months as the water levels in the dam are reduced. In such a situation, it is a cruel joke on the people of north Karnataka to divert drinking water for industries,’‘ he said.
