BENGALURU: Iggaluru dam in Channapatna, a lifeline for thousands of farmers in the taluk, has turned into a bypoll issue. The project has filled up over 100 lakes, helping thousands of farmers take up agricultural activities.
Iggaluru dam, standing 1234.4 metres long with a gross capacity of 5.15 million cubic metres, was inaugurated in 1996. It was built across the Shimsha river, a tributary of the Cauvery. Lakes in and around the taluk are getting water from this reservoir under the lift irrigation project, and farmers are growing ragi, paddy and even sugarcane. Now, all parties are claiming credit for the project, and trying to woo voters in the name of the dam.
The Channapatna bypoll is a prestige battle for all three parties -- JDS, BJP and Congress -- with NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, contesting against BJP turncoat CP Yogeshwara on a Congress ticket. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, who is from Ramanagara district, is leading the fight against Nikhil.
Yogeshwara is a five-time MLA, winning in 1999 (as an Independent), 2004, 2008 (Congress), 2011 bypoll (BJP) and 2013 (Samajwadi Party). He lays claim to the name ‘Bhagiratha’ of Channapatna for filling up lakes from Iggaluru dam. Yogeshwara has been mentioning it in his speeches often.
Former PM HD Deve Gowda, who has been campaigning for grandson Nikhil for a couple of days, taunted Yogeshwara, saying, “But it is I who constructed Iggaluru dam, for which our government had released Rs 150 crore. In fact, I inaugurated it during my tenure and people here are witness. I ensured that water reached the lakes,” Gowda told voters at a rally recently. Iggaluru dam is also known as Deve Gowda barrage.
Meanwhile, BJP is also taking credit as some grants was released during DV Sadananda Gowda’s tenure as CM from 2011-2012.