Upper Bhadra Project: Trial run to Chitradurga diversion canal begins

Elected representatives of Chitradurga and Tumakuru districts on Sunday visited Bhadra reservoir in Tarikere taluk to witness the commencement of trial run of water release into Chitradurga diversion canal under Upper Bhadra project. Social Welfare Minister T. Raghumurthy, former minister TB Jayachandra and others were among those who visited. Photo: Special arrangement

The trial release of water from the Bhadra reservoir to the Chitradurga branch canal under the Upper Bhadra project began on Sunday (September 6, 2026) – a moment termed as historic by the elected representatives given the decades-long struggle of the people of Chitradurga district.

Three TMC of water is being released as part of the trial operation which has been started at the project’s abstraction point at Bhadra reservoir. The larger project is designed to supply water to 12 taluks in four districts – Chitradurga, Tumakuru, Chikkamagaluru and Davanagere.

Scheduled Tribe Welfare Minister and Chitradurga District Minister-in-Charge, who visited the dam to witness the occasion, said the completion of the project after a struggle of six to seven decades was a great satisfaction.

He paid tribute to individuals, associations and farmer groups who had campaigned for the project for decades – several of whom, he said, were no longer alive to see its implementation – and thanked successive chief ministers, from SM Krishna to incumbent chief minister DK Shivakumar, along with former chief ministers and district in-charge ministers for advancing the project.

Under the project, 17.4 TMC is pumped from the Tunga river into the Bhadra reservoir and another 12.5 TMC is pumped from the reservoir itself – a total of 29.9 TMC which is lifted into a tunnel near Ajjampur. From there the water is distributed through Chitradurga branch canal and Tumakuru branch canal.

The project envisages filling 367 reservoirs and providing drip irrigation to 2.25 lakh hectares. However, as the drip irrigation and tank filling infrastructure is yet to be completed, the release has been limited to 3 TMC on a trial basis for the time being. Mr. Raghumurthy said the arrangement would become permanent once the work was completed and appealed to the public to cooperate without creating confusion till then.

MLAs K. Veerendra Pappi (Chitradurga), M. Chandranna (Holalkere), TB Jayachandra (Sira and former minister), GH Srinivas (Tarikere) and BG Govindappa (Hosadurga) along with other elected representatives and officials were present.

Published – 06 Sep 2026 16:00 IST