MLA writes to CS seeking permission to conduct meeting

Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat on Wednesday has written a letter to Chief Secretary of Karnataka T M Vijay Bhaskar asking the latter to permit him to convene a meeting and to discuss water crisis with the officials of Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC).

In the letter, Bhat has stated that CMC officials citing model code of conduct were not agreeing to accompany him to Baje dam area. Even otherwise they were not willing to participate in the meeting to discuss on tackling water crisis, he has stated.

Udupi CMC has not supplied water to the citizens for the past five days due to depletion of water-level in Baje dam.

As the election in state has ended, the deputy commissioner should direct the officials to participate in a meeting in order to find solutions to water crisis in the district, Bhat has stated.

As the elected body is absent in Udupi CMC due to ongoing legal battle over roaster system, Bhat has stated that deputy commissioner, who is the administrator of Udupi CMC, should find a solution to water crisis.

“I had highlighted the water scarcity issue two months ago. But the deputy commissioner and the CMC officials have not realised the gravity of problem,” he has alleged in the letter.

He has urged the chief secretary to direct deputy commissioner to float tenders to hire tankers to supply water to the city.

When the officials of CMC decided to pump water from the craters along the path of River Swarna to supply water to city from Wednesday, the local residents objected as they too were facing water crisis.

The objections prompted Bhat to promise them of supplying water through tankers by paying from his own pocket.