Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday renewed the state’s request for approval of the Mekedatu project, asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to support the proposed dam project during an event in Mysuru. Shivakumar said the project should receive approval and claimed that its implementation would also benefit Tamil Nadu.
The request was made after Modi inaugurated the Cosmos–Mysuru planetarium at the foothills of Chamundi Hills. The planetarium, described in the report as the country’s first LED curved-dome planetarium, has been built at a cost of ₹115 crore and is intended to serve as a centre for cosmology education and research training.
Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Shivakumar said the Cosmos centre would help nurture young minds and become a major landmark for Karnataka. He thanked the Prime Minister for the facility and said students from all parts of the state should have access to world-class scientific education.
Shivakumar also said the Karnataka government would provide the necessary support for the planetarium. He referred to the state’s space technology policy and sought cooperation from the Union government to promote the sector.
The Chief Minister then raised the Mekedatu project during his address. According to the report, he asked the Prime Minister to grant approval for the project and said that no one could stop its implementation. The request places the long-pending proposal back in the public discussion through a direct appeal made at a public event attended by the Prime Minister.
The report does not provide details of any decision by the Union government or the Prime Minister on the request. It also does not specify a new approval timetable, construction schedule, project cost or implementation agency for the Mekedatu proposal. The immediate outcome of the appeal therefore remains limited to the request made by the Karnataka Chief Minister.
In the same address, Shivakumar sought cooperation on the Kasturirangan report and called for a corporate social responsibility policy focused on primary education. He asked that CSR funds reach government schools and said the Centre and the state should work together for development.
The Mekedatu request came as part of a broader set of appeals covering water infrastructure, environmental policy, scientific education and school funding. No official response from the Prime Minister or the Union government was reported in the supplied account.
