BENGALURU: The Western Ghats, on Unesco’s World Heritage Site list, will be directly impacted if the Karnataka government implements the Centre’s ambitious mega river-linking project. The project will not just impact the fisheries sector, but will also affect the food intake pattern of many who depend on aquatic
species for proteins.
Environmentalists point out that the fragile Western and Eastern Ghats will be impacted when natural river courses are changed. Officials from the fisheries department concur that it will mean a huge disruption in the habitat of the fish, and the resultant food chain and people’s eating habits. It will change the level of salinity and oxygen, which will disrupt the natural ecosystem and affect the endemic species.
Three species that will be affected are the Mahaseer in the Cauvery, Hilsa and fresh water eels, which are consumed by many. A senior fisheries official, on condition of anonymity, said, “These three species are immediate, but many other migratory species will also be impacted in the food chain.”
“It is not just the financial implication, but also the environmental and social implications which need to assessed. Yettinahole is a classic example of this failure. The cost of the project has escalated from Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 23,000 crore, but the project has not moved much,” said Kishore Kumar, president of Malanadu Janapara Horata Samiti.
Conservationists say that changing the natural course of a river is not simple, and definitely not practical, like turning the River Sharavati northwards instead of the original Western Ghats. “The government thinks river water flowing into the sea is a waste. But it doesn’t realise that it’s the natural course and important for estuaries, aquatic life and protection of native and endemic vegetative species.
The plan was prepared by the National Water Board in the 1980s, but now the groundwater situation, population, urbanisation and even water level in rivers has changed,” points out Prof (retd) MB Kumaraswamy, economist and author. Environmentalists have also raised questions on the ecological impact, when around 300 dams will have to be constructed to link the rivers, and coal energy generated to pump water upstream. The Telugu Ganga project and Kerala’s Silent Valley project are classic examples of the failure of such projects.
“Linking five man-made rivers in Rajasthan to provide water to a parched state cannot be replicated in Karnataka, where the topography is different. Karnataka has a large section of the Western Ghats, connects to the Eastern Ghats and is also linked to the sea. Each region needs a specific environmental impact assessment and local solutions should be found to meet the water requirement,” said Kalgundi Naveen, author and teacher. RTI activists say they have filed applications seeking details of the project, but no state has shared them.