Mangaluru (TOI): Even as the protest against Yettinahole project is gathering steam, District in charge minister B Ramanath Rai challenged the BJP on Monday to move a motion against Yettinahole project and he would personally talk to the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and stop the project.
"It was the BJP who initiated the project. We cannot stop an ongoing project. BJP leaders from district like the then environment minister Krishna Palemar and N Yogish Bhat, who was deputy speaker in the assembly, supported the project and kept mum when the Cabinet approval was given. I challenge Mangaluru MP Nalin Kumar Kateel to see that state BJP moves a motion against the project and I will stop it. Let BJP stop making allegations against me," he retorted.
VENTS CLOSED ON TIME: Ramanath Rai on Monday said that the vents of the Thumbe dam were closed well in advance unlike suggested by BJP that it was closed two months late. Former Mayor Shashidhar Hegde said while BJP led city corporation had closed vented dams in months of October to December in the years 2008 to 2012, The Congress led corporation had also closed well in time. In 2015, the gates were closed on December 15, he said.
Recently Krishna J Palemar, former minister blamed that due to sand mafia lobby the gates of the Thumbe vented dam were closed two months late and this resulted in water scarcity in the city. Palemar had said the gates were supposed to be closed by end of November but it was closed two months later due to pressure from sand mafia.
Rai said a register is maintained at the Thumbe dam regarding closure and BJP should not talk off their hat instead help the Corporation in mitigating water scarcity.
NEW THUMBE DAM: Rai said the new Thumbe dam work is 95% complete. He admitted at one point of time the work had stopped completely due to no funding from BJP government. "We have seen that the pending dues were cleared and work started. The work should eb complete within a month or two," he added.
On the water storage level at the new dam, he said it would be four mts like the old dam. "There will be no extra submergence and if we need to increase storage of water we will conduct a survey to see the extent of submergence and the compensation to be given to people who will be displaced," he added.
