With widespread disapproval against diverting the Yettinahole from the public, scientists, environmentalists and local political representatives, why are policymakers pushing ahead?
We are a nation bursting at the seams. Our burgeoning population is vying for limited natural resources, water being among the most crucial. And the Yettinahole river diversion project brings to fore critical issues of ecological sustainability in resource-use.
Ever-growing domestic and industrial water demands have led drier, eastern parts of Karnataka to outgrow water-sufficiency once provided by local rivers, lakes and below-ground water. To meet swelling demands, the west-flowing rivers of the Western Ghats are now being diverted eastwards. However, the streams and forests of these river systems comprise watersheds that support agriculture, drinking water and local fisheries for people on the western side of the mountains. The west-flowing rivers are integral to regional ecology and which now stands threatened.
The plan to turn Yettinahole
Diverting the west-flowing Yettinahole towards Bangalore is an ambitious project with an estimated cost of Rs 13,000 crore. The project proposes to divert nearly 24 TMC (or 672 billion litres) of water from the head-waters of the Netravathi river towards the water-scarce districts of Kolar, Ramanagara, parts of Hassan, Tumkur, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural and Devanahalli Industrial Area, – besides augmenting water to T.G. Halli and Hesaraghatta reservoirs near Bengaluru city.
The project plan is this: divert flows of the Yettinahole, a vital tributary of the Netravathi, through eight diversion weirs and a canal network spanning 1,000 kilometres. The water will be pumped from the weirs to a network of five delivery chambers and then channeled eastward through giant pipes that cut across the Western Ghats. In addition, seven storage reservoirs will be constructed in several districts of Karnataka.