The Hindu : Karnataka / Mangalore News : Mangalore faces severe water scarcity

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 08, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Mangalore

Mangalore faces severe water scarcity

By Our Staff Correspondent

MANGALORE, APRIL 7. With no hope of any inflow from the Nethravati despite rainfall in the Western Ghats region, the authorities concerned, as a last resort, have urged Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) to stop pumping from the vented dam at Sarapady.

After a series of meetings, elected representatives, including N. Yogish Bhat and Krishna J. Palemar, MLAs, and the Mayor, Purandaradasa Kulur, decided that MRPL should be asked to stop pumping until drinking water is available in the city.

Giving details of the situation, the executive engineer, Suresh Babu, told The Hindu that there is minimal inflow of seven to eight cusecs into the vented dam at Thumbay, which could be due to the MRPL officials complying with the request to stop pumping from the Sarapady dam.

Water consumption

Mr. Bhat said that the main consumers are farms and plantations along the riverbank.

He pointed out that while the city draws around 20 mgd (million gallons per day), the farmers and plantation owners draw nearly 40 mgd. He said they are yet to comply with the directions issued by the district administration.

The Deputy Commissioner, Arvind Shrivastava, stated that the district administration has already ordered the complete stoppage of pumping of water from the river. Many farmers use diesel pumps to pump water.

The district administration is determined to solve the drinking water scarcity on priority, he said.

The scene is bad for the city, as for the first time people are queuing to draw water from wells in their neighbourhood. The first of the "three-day slots" of water release started on Thursday and many have already complained that their overhead tanks are dry.

A few have started ordering water from private suppliers. The suppliers are also finding it hard to find water. A few perennial wells and tanks in the city are now showing signs of depletion.

Water resources choked

Dejappa Mendon, an expert on water resources, said that the city has been careless with its water resources. Construction companies have closed many wells after their projects were completed. Likewise many tanks and "madagas" (small wetlands) have also been levelled for reclaiming land in the city for converting it into residential layouts. All these have choked the city's water resources, he added.

The last of the wetlands inside the city at Kadri, however, has been maintained by a family, which obligingly supplies water for a small cost in the city.

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