BENGALURU: Large and Medium Industries Minister MB Patil on Wednesday said the state government has prepared a plan to enhance the storage capacity of Agara and Madduru lakes in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar district to store Cauvery water for supply to industrial areas around Bengaluru.
The minister said the project would also benefit local farmers by enabling irrigation for two crops annually instead of the present single-crop system. In this connection, the minister held discussions with Kollegal MLA AR Krishnamurthy, who met him at Khanija Bhavan here, and clarified the concerns surrounding the project. He also directed officials to organise a meeting with farmers at the earliest.
He clarified that the project would utilise water allocated for industrial purposes by the Cauvery Water Tribunal and not water reserved for agriculture. Of the 4 tmcft ear-marked for industries, 1.37 tmcft is already in use, while 2.5 tmcft from the remaining allocation is proposed for industrial supply.
According to the minister, water will be pumped directly from the Cauvery during monsoon months and stored in the lakes for use during the rest of the year. The storage capacities of Agara and Madduru lakes will be increased substantially without acquiring additional land by deepening the reservoirs.
Patil also said the Chikkahole and Suvarnamukhi lakes located downstream of these reservoirs would be developed. Water in these lakes too would be made available to farmers throughout the year.