BJP in TN hits out at K'taka for opposing Hogenakkal project

Chennai, May 31 (UNI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit President L Ganesan today hit out at Karnataka for opposing the Hogenakkal drinking water project, being implemented by the Tamil Nadu government to meet the needs of people in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.

In a strongly worded statement, he said Karnataka had no locus standi or valid ground to oppose the project and wanted Karnataka to prove that the implementation of the project would affect the drinking water needs of the people of Karnataka.

Asserting that Hogenakkal was well within the Tamil Nadu border, Mr Ganesan, whose party had come to power in Karnataka, said this could be proved by undertaking any land survey.

The demarcation and identification of borders had become easy as this could be ascertained with the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS). Using the GPS, one could clearly find that Karnataka border was one km away from Hogenakkal area, he said.

Indirectly referring to Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, who had led an ''invasion'' into the Hogenakkal area, stating that it belonged to Karnataka, Mr Ganesan said someone had ''misdirected'' leaders to believe that the area belonged to them, thus making it an issue.

''We are not opposed to any land survey to prove that Hogenakkal belonged to us and it is in our territory,'' he said. If the naming of the project after Hogenakkal was the problem, then it could be named as Dharmapuri or Pennagaram drinking water project, the BJP leader suggested.

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