HC asks IISc to submit report on Managaluru water contamination

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday directed the director of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, to constitute a committee to analyse the quality of drinking water supplied to the people in Mangaluru, in view of contamination reported at Pachanady area and Maravoor dam.

A division bench passed the order in the wake of contradictory reports filed by the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).

The counsel for KSPCB said that the report dated August 24, 2021 had found that the water was not fit for human consumption and recommended immediate remedial measures. Senior counsel Dhyan Chinnappa, appearing for the MCC, submitted that while an earlier report by the KSPCB pointed at contamination, a subsequent report stated otherwise. He also said that testing is being carried out regularly and the pollution level in water has been found within the standard limits and it is not poisonous.

“Since there is contradictory stands taken by the parties to the case with respect to the drinking water supplied by the MCC for human consumption, we deem it appropriate to direct an independent agency such as IISc to conduct testing at various levels, including at the entry and exit point, to find out the exact position of water having been supplied to the people at large,” the bench said.

It directed the KSPCB and the MCC to provide required assistance to the team. The court has directed the IISc team to visit the places within 15 days and submit the report in a sealed cover.

Meanwhile, the MCC also submitted that a tender process for the purpose of shifting legacy waste from the Pacchanadi dumping yard has been initiated. The bench directed the MCC to finalise the tender process and start the process. The matter has been posted to November 30.

The court is hearing a PIL filed by the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority (KSLSA) with regard to the Pachchnadi disaster in August 2019. A heap of garbage had slid, damaging several houses and agricultural properties in the vicinity. The contamination of water was caused because of the overflowing of leachate from the dumping site.