K'taka Govt to ensure speedy completion of Varahi project

Udupi, Apr 6 (UNI) Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy will convene a meeting of irrigation department officials soon to expedite the completion of the Varahi irrigation project in the district to enable revival of the Bramhavar Cooperative Sugar Factory.

Informing this at a press conference here today, Medical Education Minister and district in charge Minister V S Acharya said Water Resources Minister K S Eshwarappa and Sugar Minister Jagadish Shettar would visit the site within a month to assess the progress of the project.

He said the proposal sent to the Centre, seeking construction of a permanent sea wall at a cost of Rs 137.84 crore to arrest recurring sea erosion, was at the final stage of approval. Once the project was cleared, critical reaches of the erosion would be identified along the Karnataka coast for commencing the work, he added.

Referring to the controversial 1,015 mw coal-based thermal power project to be set up by the Nagarjuna Power Corporation Limited near Yellur in the district, Dr Acharya said that though the company had obtained all required clearances from both the Centre and the state government for executing the project, the project work would commence only after convincing the local people.

The Minister informed that he, along with a few elected representatives, would visit the Raichur Thermal Power station on April 18 to make an on-the-spot assessment of the impact of the thermal station on the environment.

UNI MA RG SKB1700