News Karnataka –Exclusive
River Netravathi-She is the lifeline of the entire coastal district of Dakshina Kannada though she flows in only four taluks. She is revered right from Dharmasthala where devotees take a holy dip in her to Mangalore where she quenches the thirst of every one. The 96 km long river Netravathi is seen in her full splendour during monsoons, while her pace slows down during summer.
But, today Netravathi is in danger. Some people are hell bent upon committing atrocities on her. The river which flowed ceaselessly with all he might since time immemorial is today eyed by selfish politicians and those at helm of affairs. If Netravathi suffers, then the entire district would continue to suffer.
The state government is trying to snatch River Netravathi away from the people of the coastal belt through the Yettinahole Project. Though the project is said to be intended at supplying water to the parched districts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Bangalore rural districts, in reality, the people of the coastal belt have a growing fear that this will be nothing but a systematic ploy to divest the river water and deprive the coastal districts of its benefits.
Netravathi river flows along a distance of 3357 square kms and the average rainfall in catchment areas is 4306 mm. As per irrigation experts 446 TMC water flows in the river.
The only source of drinking water to the growing city of Mangalore is River Netravathi. Seventy per cent of the water needs of Mangalore is fulfilled by Netravathi which supplies 20 MGD water to the city every day.
With a Special Economic Zone in the pipeline for Mangalore, it may on an average require 500 MGD of water per day once implemented. The setting up of the SEZ will also increase the population of the city which in turns triggers more demand for water. As if this is not enough, several hydel companies too are eying Netravathi river to avail subsidy offered by the government for mini hydel plants.
Already, over 28 hydel plants, mini, medium and large are on the pipeline and there are plans to generate power by constructing mini dams at 13 places across Netravathi in Belthangady taluk alone. Already power companies are operating at Neerakatte, Nidle, Shambhur and other places. In Sarapady too, a huge dam has been constructed across Netravathi by the MRPL.
According to estimates, there are plans to generate 110 MW of electricity from the hydel plants. But what would be impact of obstructing the flow of the river at as many as 23 places? Is it right to exploit a river to such an extent to generate electricity?