With the opposition mounting for the proposed Yettinaholey river diversion project, the Member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada has written to the Centre urging it to stop the project till the doubts are cleared on the same.

Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Tuesday, Nalin Kumar Kateel, Dakshina Kannada MP, said that he has written a letter to Uma Bharati, Union Water Resources Minister, in this regard, and has sought an appointment with the Minister to discuss the issue.

Many people in Dakshina Kannada district are opposing the project, as they feel that the project is aimed at diverting River Nethravathi, the lifeline of the district, to eastern parts of the State.

Expressing his opposition to the project, Kateel said the State Government has proposed this project at an estimated cost of Rs 13,000 crore. However, the Government has not made it clear from where it will mobilise fund for the project.

The project involves civil works in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats region of Karnataka. He wondered how the State Government can carry out the work in such regions without getting forest clearance for the project. The Government has to make its stand clear on this, he said.

He said that the State Government has not taken into confidence the elected representatives, environmentalists and researchers while implementing such a major project. The Government should convene a meeting of all the stakeholders concerned on this project.

Stating that the people of Dakshina Kannada are not against providing drinking water to people in other parts of the State, he said the requirement of the district has to be met first. The district faces water scarcity during summer. First provide drinking water to the people of the district, before planning any such projects, he said.

Kateel said that he, along with other senior leaders from BJP, will meet Uma Bharati in Delhi soon to discuss the issue. He will urge the Centre to intervene and stop the project till all the doubts are cleared.

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