Mangaluru (TOI) : Former KPCC president B Janardhan Poojary has urged CM Siddaramaiah not to pursue the Yettinahole project any further. Describing the project that the government is executing ostensibly to provide potable water to parched districts as the brainchild and handiwork of two former chief ministers of the state who hail from this part of the state, the senior Congress leader warned that the project will bleed Dakshina Kannada (DK) district dry.

Averring that the project has been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 13,000 crore, Poojary said the current project status indicates that this estimated cost could double. "The project will totally destroy the Nethravathi River, which is the lifeline of the district," he said adding by tapping in to the tributaries that feed the Nethravathi for implementing the project, the government is moving to dry up the River itself and is apparently not bothered by the consequences.

Reminding the CM that the project is being funded by the exchequer and that the money belongs to the 6-crore odd Kannadigas, Poojary said there are several other ways and means to provide drinking water to parched districts that includes Kolar. Exhorting the CM not to change the detailed project report if he had any common sense, Poojary said it is high time that Siddaramaiah went with his own reasoning on the project and not be guided by wisdom of others.

Demanding that the CM immediately convene a meeting of experts and opponents of the project to resolve contentious issues, Poojary asked Siddaramaiah from where he will provide water to residents of the coastal district that is also educational hub of the state. "We have students local and foreign studying here," he said adding the government which claims that the project will divert excess flood waters has to ensure that drinking water needs of DK is met first.