Fighting for the cause of drinking water...and for a thirsty city

Rachna Ramesh & Mehak Mudassir | NT

The Congress padayatra from Mekedatu in Ramanagara district to Bengaluru, seeking implementation of the Mekedatu balancing reservoir project, which culminated with a rally at National College Grounds here on Thursday. was an event which mobilised thousands of Congress workers and leaders to fight for the cause of drinking water.

“Namma neeru, namma hakku,” chanted the men and women as they wound their way from Palace Grounds to the venue of the valedictory function. News Trail spoke to some of the participants to find the reasons why they had decided to walk such a long distance in the scorching heat and how the project will help Bengaluru.

Mr K.T Naveen Chandra, KPCC Publicity Committee In-charge said, ‘’We are fighting for the Mekedatu project since nothing has moved though the power to implement the reservoir project, lies with the Centre and the state government where the same party, BJP is in power. If the dam is constructed, Bengaluru will not face water shortage for the next 100 years,” he explained as he walked in the rally with a Tricolour shawl around his neck.

“Mekedatu padayatra is a revolution much needed for Bengaluru to survive in an era of global warming and depleting groundwater levels,” said a Youth Congress leader from Mysuru.

“This padayatra is not meant for publicity or to help the Congress party get an electoral advantage. We have been accused by the opposition of carrying out a campaign for votes since the elections are fast approaching. But we are doing it for a cause. If the dam is constructed, there will be no water shortage for many years. Now we are relying on water from the KRS Dam. If the project goes the way we want it to, people in Bengaluru and neighbouring districts will benefit, not the Congress party,” quipped Ashvith Jain who is associated with the Congress.