The drought-prone villages in Nanjangud taluk are set to receive drinking water as the government has issued administrative clearance for the Nugu lift irrigation project besides sanctioning ₹80 crore towards its implementation.
The tenders for the project will be finalised shortly and marks the fulfilment of a long-pending demand of the local people. The project entails pumping water from the Kabini river near Chamegowdanahundi in Sargur. Nanjangud MLA B.H arshavardhan said about 2.4 tmc ft of water will be available to meet the drinking water requirements of the people in the region. About 100 villages in the taluk will benefit from the project including Masage, Kalihundi, Singaripura, Srinagar, Hedetale, Geekalli, Devarsanahalli, Uppanahalli, Hosuru, Kodinarsipura, Horalvadi, and Malluru. The project will also help replenish some of the important water bodies in the region including Narasambudhi lake, Kalale Cheluvamba lake and six other lakes. This will also help replenish the ground water situation in the region which tends to drop during summer.
A ₹17 crore solar power generation plant has also been approved and this is expected to generate 2 MW of power to meet the local needs.
The Nugu reservoir is located near Beerval spread over 18,511 acres and has a catchment area of 984 sq km. The reservoir can impound and store 5.44 tmc ft of water and helps irrigate nearly 20,000 acres of land. This includes 1,471 acres in H.D. Kote taluk and 16,639 acres in Nanjangud taluk.
In the absence of adequate water in the tail end of the command area, crops cultivated on nearly 10,000 acres of land tend to wither and farmers suffer financial loss every year. Besides, 40 lakes in the region tends to go dry as a result of which there is drinking water scarcity that plagues both human and cattle population. The commissioning of the new project is expected to end water scarcity on a permanent basis.
The Narasambudhi lake in the taluk is one of the biggest water bodies in the region and nearly 50 villages depend on it for irrigation purpose. Once the project is commissioned the region may also witness a sea change in its economic fortunes, according to Mr. Harshavardhan.
