One from each home should join Mekedatu padayatra: Siddaramaiah

Chamarajanagara: Former chief minister Siddaramaiah said that Mekedatu project is beneficial for Chamarajanagara district. "If you want water one from each home should join the Mekedatu padayatra." Speaking at an awareness programme organised by the Congress on the padayatra on Sunday here, he said that the BJP government at the Centre did not accord permission for the detailed project report (DPR) following pressure from Tamil Nadu.

He alleged that Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai was staging a dharna against the project and party national general secretary C T Ravi was supporting him. "Opposition from Tamil Nadu to the project is for

political reasons, but none can oppose a drinking water projects and even the Supreme Court rejected Tamil Nadu petition seeking stay on Mekedatu," said the former chief minister.

He challanged State Water Resource Minister Govind Karjol to show the proof and documents to support the claim that the Congress government was against the project. He said the people of the State should know the truth. The Congress government in 2018 itself sent a DPR with a cost estimation of Rs 5,912 crore to the Union government when D K Shiva Kumar was water resource minister. But the government at the Centre sat on it for three years.

He alleged that the State BJP government did not release the funds towards bills for the work completed by contractors when the Congress was in power.