MANGALORE: The completion of drinking water project taken up under the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Project (KUDCEMP) hinges on acquisition of 3.5-km stretch of land between Mangalore and Bantwal to lay the pipeline, J.R. Lobo, Deputy Project Director, has said.

The work could be completed by the end of May this year, if the land was acquired and handed over to the project authorities at the earliest, he said.

Speaking about the project's progress at the quarterly 20-point Karnataka Development Programme meeting, chaired by district in-charge Minister B. Nagaraj Shetty, here on Tuesday, Mr. Lobo said Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation had deposited money for the land with the authorities concerned. The corporation would need at least four months to lay the pipeline once the land was handed over to it, he said.

`Shortage of staff'

M. Maheshwar Rao, Deputy Commissioner, said that the absence of a full-time special land acquisition officer and shortage of staff to document the award of compensation, had delayed the process.

Stating that he had approved the compensation for one-km stretch of land, Mr. Rao said the revenue authorities would expedite the process of land acquisition and providing compensation to the affected parties.

Nearly 800 km of pipeline would be laid across the city once the main water distribution pipeline from Thumbay was complete. This would then be interconnected to about 6,000 km of the existing pipeline in the city. KUDCEMP authorities would train Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) staff on interlinking new pipeline with the existing one. Authorities would also consider replacing parts of the existing pipeline if needed, he said.

To a query by Mr. Shetty on the status of underground drainage project, Mr. Lobo said it would be completed by May 2008. Mr. Lobo said that the work on "most-modern" landfill site at Vamanjoor had been completed, and it would be handed over the MCC next month.

Funds for vented dam

Suresh Babu, executive engineer, Mangalore City Corporation, and Mr. Lobo differed on the condition of the vented dam at Thumbay, which is the only source of drinking water for Mangalore. While Mr. Lobo said there was an urgent need for rehabilitation work on the dam, Mr. Babu said the lifespan of the dam could be extended by undertaking annual repairs, and the MCC had been doing it in the past few years.

Mr. Shetty said that the State Government had agreed to release Rs. 40 crore for the construction of a second vented dam.

He directed Mr. Lobo and Mr. Babu to undertake a joint inspection of the dam to take necessary steps for its safety.

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