Parched areas in South India may no longer be water starved if the Karnataka government's plans to link Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery rivers in consulation with the states concerned succeed.
"The government is planning to link these rivers - Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery - to solve water problems afflicting parched areas in South India," Law and Parliamentary Minister T B Jayachandra told reporters here.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would hold talks with his counterparts in the southern states and Odisha to take up the river linking project, he said.
Under the project, parched lands in southern states would get water through gravity without the need for implementing water lifting projects, Jayachandra said.
"Excess water flowing waste from Tungabhadra, a tributary of Krishna, can be drawn through gravitational pull to severe water scarce districts like Tumkur and Kolar in Karnataka," he said.
Siddaramaiah was also willing to hold talks with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to set up Mekedatu power project, which would help Karnataka produce 500 MW of hydro-electric power, Jayachandra said.
