Karnataka embarks upon mega project for reclamation of soil affected by salinity of water

The Karnataka Government has embarked upon a mega project for reclamation of soil affected by salinity of water. The State Water Resources and Irrigation minister, Basavaraj Bommai informed this in Bangalore on Wednesday. He said the project costing over 600 crore rupees is envisaged jointly with the Central Government. He said excess use of water or water clogging leads to degradation of soil thereby affecting cultivation.

Hence to enrich the soil again with proper management of soil and water, the mega project will be taken up with the help of the Central Government in 50:50 ratios. This year 160 crore rupees will be provided for the programme and the State share of 80 crore rupees will be borrowed from NABARD.

The aim is to reclaim more than one lakh hectare of land affected by salinity of water. The minister further said that water-Soil management Institute in Dharwad is training farmers in proper utilization of water and already 4000 farmers have been trained. He informed that fitting of electronic flow metres in irrigation canals has helped audit exact release of water and helped save one TMC of water last year. He also said, that electronic telemetry system is used for opening and closing crush gates. He said this facility used for the first time in the country not only helps read concurrent release of water but also enables remote control of the dam gates. 

Courtesy : AIR