An experiment to monitor relevant parameters in left bank Canal of the Ghataprabha River using satellites has proved to be successful. This sort of experiment is the first of its kind in the country.

The Central Water Committee and Union Ministry of Water Resources have evinced keen interest in studying this experiment.

A sensor that transmitted data to a satellite was placed in the canal. The sensor was programmed to generate data regarding the depth of water in the canal and the speed of the water flow.

The data generated through the experiment helped hydorlogists and engineers to calculate the amount of water that is released on the basis of the width and depth of the canal. With this information in hand, officials can direct the employee to regulate the water discharge depending on the situation. The quantity of water that has to be released in different canals can also be calculated using this technology.

One of the officials from the Karnataka Niravari Nigama Limited (KNNL) said: “Earlier we used to calculate the quantity of water that we have released after assessing the decrease in the water level in the dams. That procedure takes several days. But now we can get the details immediately.

This will help us to minimise the water wastage and to direct the water to the areas to which it is not supplied.”

The government has undertaken upgradation works in some of the reservoirs and canals in the state at the cost or Rs 1,200 crore, said the minister at the Karnataka State Water User’s Cooperative Associations Conference organised here by the state government.

“We are saving around 15 TMC of water because of the work done till now and when the work is completed we will be saving around 40 TMC of water. The state is spending around Rs 230 crore on maintenance and operation of the reservoirs in the state, while it is collecting Rs 18 crore in the form of taxes,” he said.

“The co-operatives should focus on collecting the taxes. The government will give aid in proportion to the taxes collected by the co-operative associations,” clarified the minister.

“Water is precious and if it is used judiciously it will lead to all-round prosperity. The demand for water is increasing by the day and the laws that govern the water usage are ambiguous.

They should be rectified to regulate the use of water,” Bommai said.

Minor Irrigation Minister Govinda M Karajola said that water is not properly regulated in the canals even after nine years of handing over their regulation to the co-operatives. Karajola said that water does not reach the farmers at the end of the canals, adding that this should be set right.

A Soil Health Card to measure the use of water in the fields was also released on the occasion.