Mangaluru: A delegation of environmentalists met Dakshina Kannada MP Capt Brijesh Chowta on Saturday, and expressed concern over the growing water scarcity and ecological threats posed to the district by the Yettinahole Project.In a representation submitted to the MP, the citizens said they were approaching him with deep urgency over the growing water crisis and ecological damage allegedly caused by the Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Supply Project. They pointed out that Mangaluru, an expanding urban centre with IT hubs, port operations and significant inward migration, is increasingly dependent on the Nethravati River basin. Any further stress on the basin, they said, would have catastrophic consequences for the city’s drinking water security.The delegation urged the MP to raise the issue in Parliament and with the concerned ministries, and requested that the diversion of Yettinahole gravity canal water flow for industrial use in Bengaluru. They alleged that the DPR prepared for Bengaluru’s KWIN City project proposes diverting water from the gravity canal for industrial and commercial purposes, which they said contradicts the original objective of the Yettinahole drinking water project.The environmentalists also sought a legally binding minimum ecological flow (e-flow) in the Nethravati River at all times through a statutory notification under the National Water Policy to safeguard drinking water for Mangaluru’s present and future population, including its growing migrant workforce.They further demanded the implementation of the Madhav Gadgil Committee’s recommendations for the Western Ghats in Karnataka. They called for the constitution of an independent, multidisciplinary expert committee to study the environmental impact of the Yettinahole project on Dakshina Kannada and the Western Ghats. The committee’s findings should be placed before Parliament.
