MANGALORE: With the city's water reserves dropping to an all time low of six feet in the Thumbe reservoir, the Deputy Commissioner is set to request Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) to release water from its dam.

According to sources, the first round to talks on Thursday between the officials of MRPL and the Deputy Commissioner failed.

The city corporation council is now hoping that the Deputy Commissioner will be able to persuade the corporate to release water into the Thumbe reservoir. This is not the first time that the city is facing such a crisis. In 2004 and 2005, the corporation approached the corporate for water to which MRPL obliged.

Begging

Many here question why people have to go begging for water? Intellectuals point out that the people are losing their right over water despite the city getting more than 4,000 mm of rainfall every year.

According to Mayor K. Ashraf the situation had worsened.

The water level in the reservoir had never reached six feet in April.

There were occasions when the water level reached five feet in the third week of May, but the city received good rainfall that month, he added.

Engineers of the city corporation said that in 2005, the level in the reservoir went down to three feet and MRPL released water, taking the level to nine feet, which was enough for 20 days.

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