The ongoing Yettinahole project and hydel power projects on the nine tributaries of the Netravathi in a 120-km radius of eco-sensitive Western Ghats are the main causes for the river, the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada, drying up in the recent years, according to environmental activists.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, artist and convenor of Sahyadri Sanchaya Dinesh Holla said that the State government has now realised that Yettinahole, a tributary of Netravathi, did not have enough water for diverting it to the parched regions of Chikkaballapura and other districts. Hence, now the government is planning to lift (divert) water from the Kapila and the Kumaradhara, which are also tributaries of the Netravathi.

Mr. Holla said that the government is taking up permanent drinking water projects across various other tributaries of the Netravathi in the Western Ghats in-between the Kudremukh and Pushpagiri ranges, covering the catchment areas of the Netravathi. The government has allowed a few private resorts to divert water from some of the streams there, he said.

A total of 26 hydel power projects, Mr. Holla said, have come up in-between the Kudremukh and Pushpagiri ranges. While three projects — Nidle, Mrityunjaya and Gundiya — have failed, survey for hydel power projects on the Papikal and the Bandaje streams is being conducted.

He regretted the absence of a board under the River Boards Act to stop the projects which are damaging the shola forest which gives birth to the Netravathi.

Sashidhar Shetty, co-convener of Sahyadri Sanchaya, said that a petition on encroachment of nearly 850 lakes in Dakshina Kannada is pending before the Lokayukta.