How can you make a westward-flowing river flow east: Activists on Bedti-Varada interlinking

What is the News?

Environmental groups in Karnataka have criticized the Bedti-Varada Interlinking Project in Karnataka calling it unscientific and a waste of public money.

What is the Bedti-Varda Interlinking Project?

The Bedti-Varada project was envisaged in 1992 to supply drinking water.

The plan aims to link the Bedti, a river flowing west into the Arabian Sea, with the Varada, a tributary of the Tungabhadra River, which flows into the Krishna, which in turn flows into the Bay of Bengal.

A massive dam will be erected in the Gadag district. A second dam will be built on the Pattanahalla river in Sirsi, Uttara Kannada district. Both dams will take water to the Varada via tunnels.

The project thus envisages taking water from the water surplus Sirsi-Yellapura region of Uttara Kannada district to the arid Raichur, Gadag and Koppal districts.

Why are activists opposing the project?

​​Difficult to redirect river: It is difficult to redirect a westward-flowing river to flow eastward.

Rain-fed Rivers: In early summer, the Bedti and Varada rivers begin to dry up. Hence, interconnecting these rivers under the pretext of providing drinking water despite knowing well that they do not flow all year is wrong.

Environmental Impact: Over 500 acres of forests will be lost. The end result will be that there will still be no water. Moreover, the Bedti valley has been designated as an active biodiversity zone by IUCN.

Impact Livelihoods: The Bedti and Varada rivers are also lifelines for thousands of farmers in the Malenadu region, the foothills of the Western Ghats, in addition to fishing communities along the coast.

Source: The post is based on the article “How can you make a westward-flowing river flow east: Activists on Bedti-Varada interlinking” published in DTE on 22nd June 2022.