The proposed Rs 108 crore Yennehole lift irrigation project in Karkala is expected to end acute water scarcity in nine villages including Yennehole, Ajekaru, Marne, Koranjibailu, Belathotti, Heergana, Devase, Mundalu and Hermade.
Local residents have been facing acute scarcity of drinking water throughout the summer.
The project is expected to bring 1,500 hectares of farmland under irrigation. The project envisages the construction of a 125 meter-wide and three meter-long barrage across the Yennehole river. The project envisages the facility of impounding water at the barrage.
Udupi Zilla Panchayat Assistant Executive Engineer Prasanna Kumar Shet told DH that the project will provide water to nine villages. He said the project would also recharge the groundwater table.
A majority of the farmers grow grains, legumes and vegetables. Water scarcity had been the main challenge for farmers in these villages.
Earlier, farmers had been struggling with the second harvest due to acute water scarcity. The initial crop is cultivated during the monsoon. Due to scarcity of water, farmers had stopped venturing into growing crops after monsoons.
Shet said the project will be operational by the first or second week of January.
Heergana Gram Panchayat president Santhosh Shetty hoped that the project would help farmers cultivate crops throughout the year.
Discussions are also underway on giving water to villages on the irrigation project's southern side, including Jodurasthe, Gundyadka, Heergana, Chikkilabettu, Kukkunduru, and Majuru.
Karkala Town Municipal Council (TMC) Chief Officer Roopa Shetty said that the lift irrigation project will help to store water in the Anekere pond, which can then be used for supplying drinking water to residents in TMC limits during peak summer.