The Yettinaholey water diversion project, if implemented, will cause irreparable damage to the Western Ghat region in Karnataka, according to SG Mayya, hydrologist and retired professor from National Institute of Technology Karnataka.
Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Monday, he said: “If Western Ghat is damaged there will be danger not only to the coastal region but also to the entire southern India as most of the main rivers originate in the Western Ghats.”
He urged the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to look into this issue before giving concurrence to the release of forestland for the project.
The ₹13,000-crore project proposes to draw the runoff water of about 24 tmcft during the monsoon by constructing eight weirs, and by pumping water to the rain shadow regions. Yettinaholey is one of the tributaries of west-flowing Nethravathi River -- the lifeline of Dakshina Kannada district.
Threat to Ghats Quoting the United Nation’s World Water Development Report for 2015, Mayya said the report stresses the need for investing in the protection of water-related ecosystems maintaining the essential and varied environment services they provide.
In this context, it is very important to protect the forest, environment and the soils on the slopes. If the Western Ghat is not protected from these kinds of situations, it will face the fate of Uttaranchal, he said.