Arrival of reservoir water at Gonur Lake sparks celebrations as Upper Bhadra Project clears a key trial-run milestone
He said the flow of Bhadra water marked a historic phase in a project awaited for more than 50 years and credited successive governments, farmers’ organisations and activists for sustaining the movement.
Despite minor interruptions along the canal route and protests at a few locations, irrigation officials said the trial successfully demonstrated that water could be conveyed to the district through the new canal network. Residents said the arrival of river water has raised hopes of filling tanks, recharging aquifers and making agriculture more sustainable. Engineers monitored the flow through the branch canal, inspecting embankments, regulators and vulnerable stretches before confirming that the system had largely performed as expected. Chitradurga has long struggled with erratic rainfall, depleting borewells and fluoride-contaminated groundwater. District minister T Raghumurthy, who inspected the trial run, described the event as a watershed moment in the district’s history.