UDUPI: Minor irrigation department has drawn up a master plan to construct 1,348 vented dams in the coastal districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. In all, Rs 3,986.25 crore will be spent on the project in the next 5-years under which west flowing rivers will be tapped locally to provide drinking water and irrigation, ensure road connectivity and also promote prawn culture, noted J C Madhuswamy, minister for minor irrigation.
Interacting with media during his official tour to the district to lay the foundation stones for department projects here on Tuesday, Madhuswamy said 446 of the proposed vented dams for which survey has been carried out will be in Dakshina Kannada, 424 in Udupi and rest in Uttara Kannada district. The number of proposed vented dams in Uttara Kannada has almost been doubled on request from the district minister Shivaram Hebbar, he said.
Acknowledging the fact that there is no scope for major irrigation projects in the coastal belt, the minister said the vented dams projects that can be completed for as less as Rs 50 lakh will ensure that the West flowing rivers are effectively utilised. “The above project will be placed before the cabinet at its next meeting,” he said, adding the projects will be first taken across the Nethravathi river in DK district before shifting to rivers and rivulets in Udupi.
MI department has also identified potential for prawn culture in the brackish water in Uttara Kannada district through a concept called garland dams. “We have appealed to the union government to sanction funds for this project that will immensely help farmers cultivate prawns that have huge export potential,” he said. The respective MLAs will help in finalising the places where the vented dams under the master plan will come up, he said.
Reacting to complaints about lack of maintenance of vented dams that the department has constructed in the past, he said Rs 4 crore has been allocated for replacement of worn out planks in Udupi. With availability of wood used to construct these planks a major issue, the minister said the department has decided to switch over to fibre-reinforced plastic material for these planks, which is an environmentally sound decision as well.
On the issue of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) hampering take off of development projects including vented dams that the department proposed at Baindoor, the minister said the union government has amended the same. “The issue will be addressed once the mapping of CRZ areas as per the amended notification is completed,” he said. Udupi MLA K Raghupathy Bhat said the mapping could not proceed due to the pandemic.