Yettinahole project to be completed by 2027, 1st phase launch on Sep 6: DCM DK Shivakumar

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday announced that the 1st Stage of the Yettinahole project would be inaugurated on September 6 and that the entire project would be completed by 2027.

Addressing a press conference at Vidhana Soudha, he said, “The 1st Stage of the project enables pumping water to Vani Vilas Sagar which is about 132 km away. The balance 140 km would be completed under the 2nd Stage of the project and it will enable pumping water to Tumakuru.”

“An escape canal has been built at about 32 km away from Weir 4, which helps water flow to Vani Vilas Sagar through a canal. We are planning to lift about 5 TMC of water by November 1. The project needs 502 acres of forest land and we are handing over 452 acres of revenue land in turn to the Forest department. The pending works are likely to be completed in 4 months, after which the Tumakuru phase will be completed quickly,” he explained.

“A total of 24 TMC of water would be used to fill tanks and provide drinking water to seven districts. There was a lot of criticism about the project, but I took it up with determination and completed the first stage. Farmers have cooperated by parting with their lands for the project,” he said.

“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will inaugurate the project at 12.05 pm. Ministers will also inaugurate some sections of the project by 10:30 am on the same day. We will offer pooja on the auspicious occasion of Gowri Ganesha festival,” he said.

“There were some leakages at the time of experimental pumping, it has been fixed now. A separate team has been formed to study optimal use of pumped water and it will submit a report soon,” he noted.

“The project will benefit Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara, Hassan, Tumakuru and Chikkamagaluru districts. I appeal to leaders of all parties and farmer leaders to attend the event. Please treat the general invite in the media as my personal invite.

98% storage in Thungabhadra dam

“I am happy that Thungabhadra dam is filling up fast after the crest gate damage. The present capacity is 98 TMC and the total capacity is 105.79 TMC. The government has decided to honour 108 people who worked day in and day out under the leadership of retired engineer Kannaiah Naidu to repair the crest gate,” he said.

“When the crest gate was damaged, a lot of people urged us not to release water from the dam. But I had to take a tough decision after discussing with technical experts in view of the safety of the dam. We worked on war footing and completed installation of a new crest gate in 4 days. The whole nation was watching this. We will offer Bagina to Thungabhadra once Yettinahole project is inaugurated,” he said.

“A dam safety committee has been formed under the leadership of former CWC Chairman A K Bajaj. The Committee has started its work and it will submit an audit of safety of all dams in the State. The Committee has already conducted a meeting on Thungabhadra dam,” he explained.

“There were media reports that Kabini dam was in danger. The Dam Safety Committee has inspected Kabini dam too. We have instructed the Committee to initiate any urgent work if needed without waiting for instructions from the department. I will talk about the safety of dams once the Committee submits the report,” he said.