Illegal soil transportation in KRS rampant

Mandya: The lifeline of Kannadigas, the KRS Dam, has been a cause of concern due to stone mining for a long time. Now, there is a new danger arising from illegal soil transportation. It is alleged that the responsible officials have shown negligent despite being aware of the illegal transportation of soil in the backwaters.

With no rainfall, the dam is already depleting, and there is a pressing need for water. Nagendra Kumar, the former president of KRS gram panchayat has alleged that the illegal transportation of soil, is going on like sand mafia that operated in the past. However, the Mysore and Mandya district administrations are not taking appropriate action. While they advocate for saving the dam in other cases, they seem to be disregarding this issue.

Security officials and Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) officers are also neglecting their responsibilities. Additionally, tons of soil are being transported daily to produce bricks, posing a severe impact on the original inhabitants and causing extensive damage to farmers.

Instead of facilitating water stagnation in the dam, it is exacerbating problems by digging the land. Nagendra Kumar warned that if the authorities fail to address this issue in the near future, the KRS villagers will organize a program called “Save KRS” to fight for their cause.

Responding to the situation, Abhiantara Anand, Superintending engineer of CNNL stated that all engineers and police personnel have visited the site. They have taken immediate action to halt the illegal soil transportation. The deputy commissioner has instructed that further action be taken today. The Managing Director has also been made aware of the situation, and he has directed the authorities to pursue all possible legal

actions in the future.