Barapole and Laxmana Theertha should be linked says Machaiah

MADIKERI: MLC C S Arun Machaiah urged the State Government to link Barapole river to Laxmana Theertha in South Kodagu to solve water scarcity in Kodagu.

Addressing the media in Gonikoppa he said, at present 250 to 300 tmc of water from Barapole is going waste into the sea. The river should be merged with Lakshmana Theertha at RJ Gundi, he added.

He opposed construction of a dam at Baraploe and said that digging a 5-6 kilometer canal would help people of South Kodagu, he said.

He also said that linking of the two rivers will enrich the inflow of Cauvery. He said river Cauvery originates in Kodagu but the river is of no use to the district.

Arun Machaiah recalled that Kodagu had 32 big ponds but over the years they have vanished due to human intervention. Virajpet taluk panchayath ex-president VA Venkatesh, Babu Monnappa, Pramod Ganapathy, Sreeedhar and others were present.