The Hindu : Karnataka / Hassan News : CMC members protest supply of impure water

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 15, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Hassan

CMC members protest supply of impure water

Staff Correspondent

Authorities urged to order closure of chemical factory at Bommanahalli

HASSAN: The members of Hassan City Municipal Council (CMC) barring party affiliation created ruckus in the council meeting on Thursday over the supply of "contaminated" water to the people of Bommanahalli on the outskirts of the city. They protested against groundwater pollution caused by a chemical factory in the vicinity of Bommanahalli and urged the authorities to take corrective measures immediately.

They also staged a dharna to urge the president, G.T. Kumar, to supply potable water to the extension in the city suburbs. There was a heated discussion between Mr. Kumar and the member, Srikantappa, who represents Bommanahalli, over the issue.

Raising the issue, Mr. Srikantappa alleged that the groundwater water in the area has become unsafe for drinking, because of the chemicals being discharged by the factory. The people of Channapatna, Hosakopplu, and other extensions are forced to drink contaminated water due to this he noted. He also urged the authorities to close down the factory, which has failed to comply with the norms fixed by the pollution control board.

All the 15 borewells in the area have gone dry, he said. He also said that the people have been urging the authorities to provide them with potable water from a long time. However, the council has not taken any steps to address their problems, he alleged.

Other members, including Hosakopplu Ravi, C.S. Shankar, H.R. Nagaraj, H.K. Mahesh, M.C. Vasudev, B.K. Manjunath, and Surendra supported Mr. Srikantappa and staged a dharna demanding action against the chemical factory.

Responding to the issue, Mr. Kumar said the council had collected water from a borewell and sent it for chemical analysis. Though 15 borewells have been sunk for providing potable water to the people, the council could not solve the problem owing to the depletion in groundwater levels, he added.

Not satisfied with the reply, Mr. Shankar took the president to task and sought a convincing explanation on the efforts taken to solve the problem. Mr. Srikantappa alleged that the authorities are not cooperating with the elected body and have not taken the issue seriously. Mr. Shankar urged Mr. Kumar to prepare an action plan for the supply of drinking water from the Hemavathi and Yagachi to Bommanahalli and Hosakopplu. Responding to his demand, Mr. Kumar said that the council will prepare an action plan by Sunday and after getting approval from the district administration, it will be forwarded to the Government for the sanction of funds. Satisfied with the reply, the members withdrew their dharna.

Commending the efforts of the CMC in unveiling a portrait of Kuvempu in the council's Kuvempu auditorium, H.R. Nagaraj and others suggested that the portraits of national leaders also be put up. Mr. Kumar promised to do so soon.

The members expressed dissatisfaction over the quality of construction of the auditorium. Mr. Kumar said that the council has not cleared the bills to the Land Army, which constructed the auditorium. The bills will be cleared only after the problems are corrected.

The vice-president of the council, Sajeeda Anwar, and the commissioner, Prasanna Kumar, were present.

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