Officials propose special diversion channel to prevent big drain from flowing into river

To First Link Rivers Within A Basin

Connecting Ken-Betwa To Be First Of 30 Projects Costing 5,60,000cr

New Delhi: After almost a decade of political objections and green opposition, the Cabinet is likely to clear on Thursday the ambitious project to inter-link rivers, beginning with the process of connecting the Ken and Betwa rivers in Madhya Pradesh.

A day after demanding a meeting of the Cauvery River Water Authority, Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa on Sunday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ask Karnataka to stop “forthwith the execution of any check dams or diversion structures across the Pennaiyar river”.

“I understand the government of Karnataka has proposed to construct check dams and diversion structures across the Pennaiyar river, which is causing great alarm and apprehension in Tamil Nadu

Agriculture, water supply in Krishnagiri district hit

Illegal sand mining in the main water sources such as South Pennar and the river Markandeya has affected water supply and agriculture in Krishnagiri district. Kodiyalam, Kelevarapalli Dam and KRP Dam are the main water sources for Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts. Many representations by farmers and social activists to supply water from South Pennar to Bargur, Veppanahalli, Berigai, Mathur and Uthangarai have not evoked any response from the authorities.

The Indian Supreme Court yesterday ordered the government to implement an ambitious project to link the major rivers of the region in a “time-bound manner”.

The Supreme Court today directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementati

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to implement the ambitious interlinking of rivers project in a time-bound manner and appointed a high-powered committee for its planning and implementation.

Observing that the project has already been delayed resulting in an increase in its cost, a three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said the Centre and the concerned State governments should participate for its “effective” implementation “in a time-bound manner”.

There is no doubt that increased urbanisation and industrialisation have caused pollution of rivers in Andhra Pradesh. Studies conducted at various stations along the Godavari, Krishna, Pennar and Nagavali rivers by the Andhra Pradesh Pollu-tion Control Board show that increased human and industrial activity have compromised the health of the rivers and those who depend on them for sustenance.

New monitoring parameters were used in the study. Since there is a growing concern about pesticide residues and heavy metals in water sources, the Central Pollution Control Board directed the APPCB to collect samples of water in addition to the routine samples collected once a year, preferably in the month of April, to ascertain the presence of micro-pollutants,