Karnataka: Yeddyurappa dharna makes govt rush to launch incomplete water project
Hubballi: People line up in long queues at taps for water in every nook and corner of the twin towns of Gadag-Betageri.
Women quarrel and fight for their turn at the taps all through the year here as old worn out pipelines and lack of water resources have hampered water supply to the towns, which have been prone to drought over the last few years.
The water troubles of Gadag-Betageri have now become a major issue for all the three major political parties, that are playing the blame game to woo voters ahead of the coming Assembly elections.
While the state government has completed the installation of pipelines from a barrage built across the Tungabhadra river to draw 45 million litres of water to the towns every day to cater to their over two lakh population for the next 30 years, the distribution network of around 40,000 households has not yet been completed. But just a week after state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa held a day long dharna in the town on the issue, the government decided to inaugurate the still incomplete water project in Gadag. District in-charge minister, H K Patil, who is having to face a barrage of criticism over the project, is having it hastily inaugurated by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on June 4.
“The Rs 127-crore drinking water project had to be commissioned by end of 2015. But the government has failed to meet the deadline due to negligence of contractors and corruption. Now it is inaugurating the project although 60 per cent of the distribution network has not been completed only with an eye on the polls,” charged opposition leader in the Gadag-Betageri city municipal council, Sadanand Pilli.
However, city municipal commissioner, Mansoor Ali claimed the water distribution network covering all 35 wards and construction of overhead tanks would be completed within a few months after inaugurating the project on Sunday.
