Foundation stone laid for Nandawadagi Lift Irrigation Project at Tondihal.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has said that the State government has taken up irrigation projects on priority.

He was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone for the Nandawadagi Lift Irrigation Project in Tondihal village in Lingsugur taluk recently.

The project will come up at a cost of ₹ 1,530 crore by Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) to irrigate 89,205 acres of dry land in Lingsugur, Manvi, Hungund and Maski Assembly constituencies in Raichur and Bagalkot districts.

Mr. Siddaramaiah, who sharply attacked the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the State for neglecting irrigation projects, said that the Congress government had spent ₹ 40,000 crore in the last four years. It is ready to spend ₹ 10,000 crore for irrigation projects in the Krishna Basin as promised during the padayatra, Congress Nadige-Krishneya Kadege, conducted by him in 2014.

He said that the three Chief Ministers of the then BJP government, B.S. Yeddyurappa, Sadanand Gowda and Jagadish Shettar, had not spent even half of the money that the Congress government has spent so far on irrigation projects. But, they are spreading falsehood and misleading the people about the State government on irrigation projects.

The Chief Minister said that ₹ 8,165 crore of farm loans has been waived benefiting around 22 lakh farmers. Therefore, the Prime Minister should waive farm loans of ₹ 48,000 crore taken from nationalised banks to helping those in distress.

Thanking the Chief Minister for extending support for the project, M.B. Patil, Minister for Water Resources, said that the project was sanctioned due to a struggle by the people and farmers of the district.

He said that he would try to get it completed in time by spending the allocated money.

Karadi Sanganna, MP, Manappa Vajjal, Pratap Gowda Patil and Vijayanad Kashappanavar, MLAs, also spoke.

Anjum Pervaz, Managing Director of KBJNL, and others were present.

THE HINDU