Government proposes flow meters for Yettinahole

Bengaluru: The State government will install telemetry steam flow meters for measuring the availability of water at the Yettinahole drinking water project, which was undertaken to supply water to the seven drought-prone southern districts of Karnataka. The equipment will be installed at the project site at Yettinahole in the region of the Western Ghats, costing an approximate Rs. 3.3 crore.

Canary Automations Private Ltd. has been assigned the task of installing the equipment. An official team led by Secretary of Water Resources Department B.G. Gurupadaswamy visited and inspected a factory in Germany which manufacture the telemetry steam flow meters.

The State government’s decision comes as a direct result of the instructions given by the National Green Tribunal and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. While according forest clearance for the project, the MoEF had specified that the discharge flowing into the streams and the water pumped out should be measured for at least two years to make sure that 15 cusecs flow from the weirs on the downstream side.

The Yettinahole project is proposed to harness 24.01 tmcft of water from streams and fill up tanks for groundwater recharge in Hassan, Chikkamagaluru, Tumakuru, Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagaram, Chickballapur and Kolar districts. The Yettinahole project lift component will also be completed soon and will be commissioned on trial basis during the current year.