Mayor appeals to citizens to use water judiciously

The Mangaluru City Corporation is geared up to ensure uninterrupted drinking water supply to the people in 60 wards of the city. The storage of water in Thumbe vented dam stands at 5.60 metre, which is sufficient to supply for the next 47 days, Mayor Bhaskar Moily said.

Speaking to reporters after visiting the Thumbe vented dam on Friday, he said the water level in the dam has increased by three centimetres following rain in the last two days. There is 8 mcm water in the dam, he said.

He appealed to the public to use the water judiciously.

Drinking water should not be used for watering garden, washing vehicles, he said and made an appeal to the citizens to cooperate with the local body.

The mayor said that as water has been stored in a private dam of AMR Power Pvt Ltd at Shamboor, upstream of Thumbe, it could be released to the Thumbe dam any time if there is fall in water level in the Thumbe dam to maintain at the maximum level. The AMR dam has 9.17 mcm water. The status quo in water supply will be maintained till May-end, he said.

The water level at the new dam, which was commissioned in December 2016, was maintained at five metres till December 2017. Later, the water level at the dam was increased to 6 metres in January 2018.

The mayor said that the state government has released Rs 10 crore to be distributed among those landowners whose land has been submerged with the storing of water in the dam at six metres height.

A total of 30 acres of private land, belonging to 36 owners, has been submerged, he added.