Mekedatu, meaning goat’s leap, is a deep gorge situated at the confluence of the rivers Cauvery and its tributary Arkavathi.
Ontigondlu is the proposed reservoir site, situated at Ramanagara district in Karnataka about 100 km away from Bengaluru.
It is the midst of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.
The Rs. 9,000 crore project aims to store and supply water for drinking purposes for the Bengaluru city.
Around 400 megawatts (MW) of power is also proposed to be generated through the project.
It received approval from the erstwhile Ministry of Water Resources for the detailed project report and is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The approval from MoEFCC is crucial because 63% of the forest area of the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary will be submerged.
