‘Water mgmt key to prosperity’

Dharwad: Water resources minister Govind Karjol said plans are afoot to bring 67 lakh hectares of land in the state under irrigation.
Inaugurating the two-day international conference on water management and climate change by Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI) here on Tuesday, he said the government has come up with plans to irrigate more land.
“So far, 30 lakh hectares have been brought under irrigation by major irrigation department and a blueprint has been made to bring another 10 lakh hectares under irrigation. 10 lakh hectares will be irrigated. In the last three years, the BJP government has brought two lakh hectares under irrigation,” he said.
Karjol hailed farmers for voluntarily adopting water management systems. Now to support such initiatives, the state has decided to provide free power to 10hp irrigational motors, the minister said.
However, Karjol raised alarm over flooding of fields particularly in sugarcane and paddy growing belt. “Due to less knowledge on water management, land is turning saline. In a few villages, 80 pc land has become saline. If not checked this will spell doom on agriculture sector, he warned. Farmers should become water literate and water warriors and adopt mechanism for effective water management, he said.
Legislative council chairman Basavaraj Horatti appealed to farmers to stop growing crops that suck more water.