Prominent personalities fighting for people’s right for water in different parts of the state on Sunday squarely blamed the politicians in the state for water woes in Karnataka stating that the greed for money and apathy are the reasons for non-completion of many irrigation projects.

While Vikas Soppin spoke about the Mahadayi struggle, K.C. Basavaraj spoke on Cauvery issues and Dinesh Holla on the Netravathi/ Yettinahole Water diversion project at the Alva’s Nudisiri being held at Moodabidri near Mangaluru. They were sharing thoughts on river water allocation and consumption at a symposium.

Mr. Soppin said the Mahadayi issue would not have been blown to the present proportion had the administration taken decisions in time. Now efforts are going on to hold dialogues between people in the concerned states- Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra, on the belief that water does not belong to one particular state, but belongs to the country. Mr. Soppin said the Yettinahole issue is a strange one, people from both the coastal and drought-affected areas do not want the project; only the government wants to implement it.

Mr. Basavaraj said, “Out of about 4,400 tmcft water roughly estimated to be available in Karnataka, only half has been exploited. The government has miserably failed to utilise water allocated by Krishna River Water and Cauvery River Water Disputes Redressal Tribunals, whereas neighbouring states, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, have completely utilised their share of allocation. It is high time that the government wakes up and utilizes the state’s share.”

On the other hand, Mr. Holla said, “Netravathi issue is a different one as it involves diverting water from the river’s origin. While people of Dakshina Kannada are not opposed to share the excess water if any, they are completely opposed to the destruction of eco-sensitive Western Ghats during the process. In such case, everyone would be affected.”