Madhava Manthri dam structure across Cauvery to be rebuilt for potable water.
MYSURU,May16: Consecutive droughts and fall in reservoir levels in Cauvery basin have hit both irrigation and drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
This has forced authorities to rebuild the 900-year-old Madhava Manthri dam into a concrete structure across the river.
The dam with about one tmcft of water storage will address drinking water scarcity to an extent.
Madhava Manthri is the main source of water for 56 villages in Malavalli taluk, Purigali lift irrigation that irrigates 30,000 acres in Malavalli, a source for Muduguthore lift irrigation covering parts of T Narsipur and Belagawadi and also for hydel power project in Hemmige.
The state government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) and invited tenders to construct the dam at a cost of Rs 70 crore as any delay will badly hit these projects and put public to hardships during drought.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department has completed modernisation of Madhava Manthri left bank irrigation canal that would check seepage and ensure that the farmers in tail-end also get water.
As the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is completely dried up, the officials utilised the situation and have reset the sluice gates at all the three levels in order to avoid wastage of water.
They have also completed modernisation of Ullahalli and Rampura canals in Kabini achukat.
Cauvery Niravari Nigam managing director Shivashankar said the water storage in these dams would be a great relief to meet drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.

900-year-old dam in Karnataka to be rebuilt for drinking water.
MYSURU: Consecutive droughts and fall in reservoir levels in Cauvery basin have hit both irrigation and drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
This has forced authorities to rebuild the 900-year-old Madhava Manthri dam into a concrete structure across the river.
Madhava Manthri is the main source of water for 56 villages in Malavalli taluk, Purigali lift irrigation that irrigates 30,000 acres in Malavalli, a source for Muduguthore lift irrigation covering parts of T Narsipur and Belagawadi and also for hydel power project in Hemmige.
The state government has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) and invited tenders to construct the dam at a cost of Rs 70 crore as any delay will badly hit these projects and put public to hardships during drought.
Meanwhile, the Irrigation Department has completed modernisation of Madhava Manthri left bank irrigation canal that would check seepage and ensure that the farmers in tail-end also get water.
As the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is completely dried up, the officials utilised the situation and have reset the sluice gates at all the three levels in order to avoid wastage of water.
They have also completed modernisation of Ullahalli and Rampura canals in Kabini achukat.
Cauvery Niravari Nigam managing director Shivashankar said the water storage in these dams would be a great relief to meet drinking water needs of Bengaluru and other towns.
District Minister H C Mahadevappa said they are committed to rebuilding Madhava Manthri dam and complete pending works to implement drip and sprinkler irrigation in Talakadu Hobli in T Narsipur.

Nearly 15 years after the textile processing units were issued that notice, the textile town is facing a grave situation this summer.
“We then received notice from the government asking us not to draw water for industrial use for a month.
The construction industry, which is already affected by sand shortage, is staring at a severe water crisis and yet another slowdown.
While the electricity generation from the hydro-plants at Mettur has been stopped due to water shortage, the water-intensive thermal plants are self-sufficient, thanks to desalination plants.
————————————————————– Andhra Pradesh – Dyeing units guzzling groundwater, residents mull moving out Dyeing units, which have mushroomed in and around Nagari municipality in Chittoor district, are one of the key suppliers of coloured yarn to the textile industries of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, yet their indiscriminate pumping of groundwater is taking a toll on water availability.
For the washing and colouring of yarn material, each dyeing unit draws thousands of gallons of water, and almost all of it from the ground.
————————————————————– Telangana – When power undercuts water supply The coal-rich town of Yellandu is facing a severe drinking water shortage with the historic Yellandulapadu tank, the prime drinking water source here, fast drying up ahead of the harsh summer months.
The treated mine water is augmenting water supply in Yellandu.
Yet the coal town is grappling with scarce water sources, a poor water supply network, and a mismatch between demand and supply of water.
The coal town needs 5.8 MLD to fully cater to the drinking water requirements of its population of around 40,000, sources said.

Cauvery water to be available for Bengaluru until June 15.
BENGALURU: Allaying fears of drinking water scarcity in the backdrop of drought, Karnataka water resources minister MB Patil said on Monday that the city had enough Cauvery water to meet drinking water needs until June 15.
Krishna Raja Sagar (4.438 tmc) and Kabini (0.295 tmc), the main sources of drinking water for Bengaluru, have a live storage of 4.7 tmc of water.
The city needs about 4.14 tmc of water to meet drinking water needs for the next 60 days.
"With this storage, we can provide drinking water for Bengaluru until June 15.
We hope the pre-monsoon showers in May and arrival of monsoon in early June would help us tide over the crisis," Patil said, speaking to reporters after a meeting with officials of Water Resources department and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
The presently available water in KRS, Kabini, Harangi, Hemavathi, Almatti, Narayanapura, Hidkal, Hipparagi, Tungabhadra and Malaprabha reservoirs would be drawn only for drinking water purposes, Patil said, and appealed to farmers to co-operate with the district administration in this regard as water would not be released for agriculture.
Elaborating on meeting the water needs of Bengaluru, the minister said, “BWSSB needs daily discharge of 600 cusecs from the reservoirs.
However, taking into account the transit losses, evaporation and syphoning of water en-route, water resources department has assured daily discharge of 800 cusecs.
This will enable us to meet the drinking water needs of Bengaluru until June 15 with present storage”.