📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Karthik Prabhu
Politics
Karnataka Minister Says Mekedatu Project Intended Solely for Drinking Water
✍️ thefederal.com
🗓 24 Sep 2026, 09:37 PM
👁 11
The Karnataka water minister clarified that the Mekedatu scheme is designed to augment drinking water supplies, not to support irrigation.
The state's water minister reiterated that the Mekedatu project, a proposed diversion on the Cauvery River, is aimed exclusively at boosting drinking‑water availability for Bengaluru and nearby districts. In a recent press briefing, the minister dismissed earlier reports suggesting that the scheme would also cater to agricultural irrigation.
Officials highlighted that the project's infrastructure—comprising a dam, tunnels and pipelines—has been planned to meet urban water demand, which has risen sharply in recent years. The clarification comes amid ongoing debates over the project's environmental impact and its implications for inter‑state water sharing.
By emphasizing the drinking‑water focus, the government seeks to address the capital's chronic water shortages while distancing the initiative from irrigation‑related controversies that have surfaced in public discourse.
Officials highlighted that the project's infrastructure—comprising a dam, tunnels and pipelines—has been planned to meet urban water demand, which has risen sharply in recent years. The clarification comes amid ongoing debates over the project's environmental impact and its implications for inter‑state water sharing.
By emphasizing the drinking‑water focus, the government seeks to address the capital's chronic water shortages while distancing the initiative from irrigation‑related controversies that have surfaced in public discourse.