BENGALURU: Once infamous for its sky-high fluoride levels and Naxal terror, one of South Karnataka’s most backward taluks-Pavagada-is now the epicentre of a dramatic transformation.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will reach Pavagada by helicopter on Monday to inaugurate a twin lifeline for the region: a drinking water project and a solar power facility that could soon reclaim its spot as the largest in the world.
Only a few years ago, Pavagada’s groundwater was so toxic it was unfit even for brushing teeth. Fluoride levels were reportedly five times above safety limits, crippling residents with skeletal and dental fluorosis.
“We are pumping clean, treated water all the way from the Tungabhadra - over 230 km away - to make sure not a single resident here has to drink poison again,” said Karnataka Home Minister and Tumakuru District Minister Dr G Parameshwara.
Madhugiri, Pavagada, and the surrounding drought-prone belt will now receive this life-saving water through a web of pipelines-an engineering feat in its own right. “This project will permanently solve the drinking water crisis in this region,” Dr Parameshwara said, who had briefly served as MLA from Madhugiri.
But water is only half the story.
The Chief Minister is also set to re-inaugurate the Shakti Sthala Solar Park, which, once its final phases go live, will reclaim the title of the world’s largest solar power plant.
Built across 13,000 acres and first launched by Siddaramaiah in 2018, the park pays 2,300 farmers annual leases of Rs 21,000 per acre, with built-in hikes.
It is not just clean energy, but green prosperity for a region once known only for red terror and barren fields. “Not long ago, Pavagada was a hub of Naxal activity. The People’s War Group had set up base camps here. Today, there is no trace of that dark past,” Dr Parameshwara said, crediting development for defeating extremism.