Tumakuru: The JD(S) and the BJP are battling over water in Tumakuru where JD(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda is trying his luck this Lok Sabha poll. While the BJP is accusing Mr Gowda of denying Tumakuru its due share of water from the Hemavathy reservoir, the JD(S) maintains he did no such thing.
Former MP G.S. Basavaraju, who is taking on Mr Gowda in the constituency, claims that although under the water sharing agreement, Tumakuru should get 24 tmc feet of water every year from the Hemavathy dam, the JD(S) leader has made sure it does not get it in the interest of his home district, Hassan.
“In the process Tumakuru gets a raw deal, being allocated only 13 tmc feet of water every year,” he complains. Hassan, on the other hand, get 40 tmcft of water from the reservoir as against its allotted 25 tmcft, he notes. “If Tumakuru gets its full quota of water, the entire district will have enough supply.
Presently only Gubbi, Tiptur, Turuvekere and Tumakuru get Hemavathy water,” he deplores. BJP MLA, Jyothiganesh too recalls that once the issue was raised in the Assembly, water was released to Tumakuru for a couple of days, but stopped later. Farmer leader, Puttaraju of the Krishik Samaja, Tumakuru, prefers to be neutral on the issue, but agrees the district has been denied its full share of water from the reservoir and blames the officials concerned for the injustice. Coming to Mr Gowda's defence, minister for small scale industries, S.R. Srinivas, recalls that he had completed the canal work to supply water to Tumakuru from Hassan through the Bagur-Navile tunnel when he was the Chief Minister.
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