Stop water rationing in M’luru, MLA tells dist admin

D Vedavyas Kamath, Mangaluru South MLA, has appealed to the district administration to stop the water rationing in the city and restart of water supply from Thumbe dam.

He spoke after paying a visit to the Thumbe dam in Bantwal and the AMR dam in Shambhur on Monday.

Kamath said that water rationing should be strictly enforced upon SEZ and MRPL. “Priority should be given to supply drinking water. As per the agreement with the AMR dam administration committee and the Mangaluru City Corporation, the water stored in the dam cannot be utilised for industrial requirements after November,” he reminded.

‘Enough water’

“Although the water level in Thumbe dam has plunged to 5.2 metres, there is enough water to be supplied to the residents of Mangaluru city. The situation is not as bad as the previous few years. The rationing could be done only after the water level dips below 4 metres,” the legislator suggested.

Pointing out that the decision to ration the water was taken without consulting the legislators of the region, Kamath said that the elevated areas of the city had not been receiving water post-rationing as there is a problem of air locking.

The MLA said that he, along with Mangaluru North MLA Dr Y Bharat Shetty and former members of the City Corporation, would meet Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil on Tuesday and discuss the issue with the officer.

Released to Thumbe

Further, after inspecting the AMR dam at Shambhur, Kamath said that, on March 22 and April 9, water was released from the dam to Thumbe as the water level in the latter dam had dipped to 5.05 metres. “This was done following the orders of the deputy commissioner. After the release of water from the AMR dam, the water level in the Thumbe dam rose to 5.75 metres,” he added.

“Generation of power too has stopped at the AMR hydro power plant due to lack of inflow to the dam,” said Gurudas Mestha, head of the plant.

“Due to lack of rainfall in the catchment areas, there is little storage of water in the dam. The water will be released if needed, following the deputy commissioner’s orders. As the AMR dam is eight kilometres away from the Thumbe dam, however, there will be reduction in the quantity of water due to evaporation and absorption,” he explained.

MLA Dr Y Bharat Shetty, BJP district vice president Ravishankara Mijar, and former corporators Premanand Shetty, Roopa D Bangera, Poornima, were present.

Desilting stormwater drains

MLA Vedavyas Kamath has said that the desilting of stormwater drains is being carried out in the city, but the method is unscientific.

“Desilting should be done from the starting point of a canal till the point where the drain meets the river. The method, however, is not being followed and the work is being carried out in only some places,” he pointed out and added that the matter would be discussed with the deputy commissioner.