Karnataka - Madikeri   

People grapple with water scarcity, erratic power supply

Staff Correspondent

The Kootuhole reservoir is leaking at one point leading to considerable wastage

A WASTE: The Kootuhole reservoir, the main source of water supply to Madikeri, is leaking at one point.

Madikeri: The drinking water problem in Madikeri is turning into a crisis. The Kootuhole reservoir, the main source of supply for the city, is drying up well ahead of the monsoon season. Certain wards in the city have been getting water only once in two or three days.

The City Municipal Council (CMC) authority is once again faced with a problem that crops up in January/February every year. Nobody is concerned about the water situation in Madikeri the rest of the year thanks to copious rain during the four months of monsoon.

The Kootuhole reservoir is leaking at one point and a considerable amount of water is flowing off without being utilised.

There were plans to plug the leakage and construct a weir to prevent wastage. However, no action has been taken in this regard. Deputy Commissioner Subodh Yadav has visited the spot and promised to take action in a few days.

Power

The people of Kodagu have been putting up with erratic power supply for many years. Unscheduled power cuts, load shedding and low voltage do not help in pumping water into storage tanks and filter beds. The Roshanara and the Pumpinakere, the other two sources of water supply, are also depleted. Political parties have been competing with each other in proposing water supply schemes to alleviate the problem in Madikeri city. Some persons allege that a holiday resort near here is adding to the problem by drilling numerous borewells.

Suggestions for the water problem include: lifting of Cauvery water from Betri, 22 km from here. But some people are opposed to this. Another group is in favour of providing water supply from Kundamestri near here. It is unfortunate that the CMC has not made rainwater harvest mandatory .

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