Implementation of the hydro-electric project will help ease power situation in Karnataka

The time has come for power-starved Karnataka to make a tough call on implementing the long-pending 200-MW Gundia Hydro-Electric Project (GHEP) in Hassan and Dakshina Kannada districts.

The hydel project will cause loss of biodiversity and significant environmental impact

The Gundia Hydro Electric Project (GHEP) proposed by the Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL) should not be executed “as the loss of biodiversity and environmental impact would be significant,” says a report by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF).

As many as 176 villages will be benefited from 30 surface water schemes. The zilla panchayat engineering division of Dakshina Kannada has proposed to draw more water from the River Nethravathi. It is for supplying drinking water to 176 villages in Dakshina Kannada using surface water from other rivers such as the Payaswini in Sullia and the Gowri Hole in Bellare along with Nethravathi. The authorities have already submitted 30 surface water schemes to the State government.

Chikmagalur: District in-charge Minister Suresh Kumar has said that Chikmagalur will be included in the II Phase of Kannada Ganga Project.
Addressing the reporters after attending the Kannada Rajyotsava programme in Chikmagalur on Tuesday, he said that already 16 towns and cities have been included in the project with the aim of providing 24x7 drinking water.

“Since availability of drinking water is sufficient in Chikmagalur, the city will be added in the II phase and steps will be taken to prevent leakage and pollution of water,” he said.

Encroachment

It is an attempt to create clean, green DK dist, says CEO
To achieve sustainability in cleanliness drive and to have a proper guidelines on waste management, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat has issued 25 point waste management guidelines to all the 203 Gram Panchayats in the district.

Model gram panchayats will be shaped at Puduvettu, Muchoor, Neermarga, Ulaibettu, Bannur GPs under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) soon.

This decision was taken during a meeting held under the presidentship of MGNREGS Ombudsman Sheena Shetty recently.

Rain continued to pummel several parts of the State, claiming two lives and flooding houses and farmlands on Monday.

In the last three days, the coastal districts of Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada have recorded an average rainfall of 267 mm against the average rainfall of 108.9 mm recorded in the past 40 years, said the officers of the Revenue Department.

Mahesh (18) of Holemarur

Karwar: Until now, endosulfan was the scourge of Dakshina Kannada. Now, even as a debate rages over a ban on this chemical pesticide, fresh cases are surfacing in Uttara Kannada district.

At least 10 cases have emerged in Bhatkal.

The ill-effects of endosulfan are beginning to unravel in Bhatkal taluk, close on the heels of similar instances in Kasargod of Kerala and many parts of Dakshina Kannada.

The ill-effects of the pesticide sprayed in cashew plantations have disabled a number of people in several villages of the taluk.

Endosulfan is being used in hundreds of acres of plantations of the Karnataka Cashew Developm

The High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday observed that it was not right to make public comments on the endosulfan ban.
Four companies which have challenged the ban had contended that public comments were having an adverse effect. The court held that the matter was sub judice and nothing could be disclosed till the final verdict.