Bengaluru, Sep 6 : Karnataka government will inaugurate the first phase of its ambitious Ettinahole Comprehensive Drinking Water Supply Project on Friday. With this, on the occasion of the Gowri-Ganesh festival, Congress hopes to consolidate its position in south Karnataka.

The inauguration will be conducted by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D. K. Shivakumar at 12 noon at Hebbanahalli Distribution Tank 4 in Sakleshpur Taluk, Hassan district. Prior to this, the CM and Dy CM will launch the water pumping system from Dodda Nagara Distribution Tank DC-3 to Hebbanahalli DC-4.

Ministers G. Parameshwara, K. J. George, K. H. Muniyappa, M. B. Patil, Eshwar Khandre, K. N. Rajanna, M. C. Sudhakar, and Byrathi Suresh will inaugurate various water-lifting and distribution units from various water storage locations (wier). Several ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, senior government officials, and others will participate in the event.

After the Almatti project in the state, the Ettinahole project is one of the Karnataka state government's most ambitious drinking water projects. On March 5, 2014, CM Siddaramaiah had laid the foundation stone for the Ettinahole project.

As a result of this project, water from Western Ghats can be taken to the arid regions of the state. Currently, water is reaching the Vanivilasa reservoir, which is 123 km away. There is still some work left in the forest areas through which the project's canal passes. These remaining works are expected to be completed in the next few months, after which water will be diverted to Tumakuru.

The total estimated cost of the project is Rs 23,000 crore. The project plans to lift and distribute water through eight weirs. On Friday, 1,500 cusecs of water will be released. The goal is to draw 14 TMC of water for drinking purpose and around 10 TMC to fill up lakes, with a total target of 24 TMC of water. The experimental operation of this project has already been successful.

The Yettinahole project will provide 24.01 TMC of drinking water to Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagar, Tumakuru, Hassan and Chikkamagalur districts.

As many as 75.59 lakh people in 38 towns and 6,657 villages in 29 taluks will benefit from this project while 527 tanks in the seven districts will be filled with 9.953 TMC of water. The project which cost Rs 23,251 crore was delayed due to electrical glitches, as per the official statement.

The project is 252.87 km long, of which work up to 164 km has been completed. Work on the 25.87 km canal is in progress. The works after 42 km were affected due to forest land acquisition issues and hence, it has been planned to supply water to Vani Vilas Sagar through an escape canal.

By the end of July 2024, works worth Rs 16,152 crores were completed and the project will be fully completed by 2027.

The Congress party leaders are confident that the project will reap rich political dividends in the southern Karnataka region through consolidation of popular support. The region supported the BJP and JD-S combination and also saw a consolidation of Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities.

BJP has a minimal presence in the region and JD-S derives its core strength from this region. However, CM Siddaramaiah and Dy CM D. K. Shivakumar managed to break the JD-S' monopoly in the state Assembly election.

However, in spite of the implementation of guarantee schemes, BJP and JD-S managed to win most of the seats in Lok Sabha election.

Congress is hoping for a turnaround yet again.

/IANS