A ventilated pond in Shivapura village in Hebri taluk of Udupi district. | Photo Credit: UMESH S. SHETTIGAR

V. Sunil Kumar, Karkala MLA, on Sunday urged the state government to release funds for fixing planks of ventilated dams across Udupi district including 250 dams in Karkala Assembly constituency.

It seems the Congress led government has no money to fix the planks. The government has failed farmers, Kumar, who is also the BJP’s state general secretary, said in a statement.

Mr. Kumar said that he had earlier written to the Minister for Minor Irrigation and other officials concerned and had requested the release of funds but to no avail. The government should take steps to install planks for ventilated ponds at the appropriate time, otherwise it will not be of any use to the farmers, he said.

He said the minor irrigation department was managing about 250 ventilated dams in Karkala Assembly constituency comprising Karkala and Hebri taluks. Many farmers depend on the water stored in vented ponds that also recharge groundwater.

The rain has subsided now and the inflow into waterways is slowly decreasing. If water is not stored in ventilated ponds, farmers and others will face water shortages in summer. If the government does not release funds, in future the farmers may have to opt for alternative ways of fixing planks to the ventilated ponds to store water for summer, Kumar said.