Stop Tamil Nadus project at Hogenakal, Centre urged
The Chamarajanagara Zilla Abhivriddhi Horata Samiti and Hogenakal Jalapata Ulisi Zilla Samiti has urged the Governor to seek the immediate intervention of the President for stalling the Tamil Nadu Government's "unethical' attempts to build a reservoir across the Cauvery in the vicinity of Hogenakal Falls. It has clarified that the ongoing works on the reservoir should be stalled until a joint survey by Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Government was conducted and the Supreme Court pronounced its stand on the Cauvery Waters Dispute Tribunal's final report. Office-bearers The office-bearers of the samitis, Ashwathnarayana, Puttaraje Urs, Simeon D'Silva and K. Veerabhadraswamy, told presspersons here on Friday that it was not clear on what grounds work orders for the reservoir in the forest area had been issued. The Tamil Nadu Government had approved the drinking water project contradicting its own stand. It was know that Karnataka wanted to launch a drinking water project to Male Mahadeshwara Hills. But the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J. Jayalalithaa objected to it, they said. Encroachment They alleged that encroachment of the Karnataka lands, illegal sand mining from Gopinatham, black stone mining from Palar Munji tank, increasing illegal structures at Hogenakal Island, Atnakampatti, Jambutapatti and Alambadi villages had reflected the "connivance' of the Karnataka Forest Department officials with the Tamil Nadu at the cost of agricultural production.