Karnataka - Madikeri   

Water woes haunt people of Madikeri

Staff Correspondent

Muthappa Temple Locality had gone without water supply for five days

Madikeri: Drinking water scarcity has become the primary concern for residents of Madikeri. The problem starts in January, but the protests against water shortage die down once the monsoon arrives in June. Right now, Madikeri is reeling under an unprecedented drinking water shortage. One may not believe that a place which gets over 3,000 mm of annual rainfall could suffer from a drinking water crisis.

In most localities, people get water from the City Municipal Council (CMC) once in two or three days. Residents of the Muthappa Temple Locality, which had gone without water supply for up to five days, staged empty-pot demonstrations some time ago.

There is just one borewell in that area and it is bound to dry up with the demand for water.

A small percentage of the people who have open wells do not feel the pinch and even use up the scare resource to wash their vehicles in the morning.

The main water sources, Kootuhole, which caters to a majority of the localities, and the Roshanara, are nearly dry. Rain received 10 days ago came as a saving grace.

The municipality authorities said drinking water was being supplied to localities once in two days. But this is not the case. The authorities have said if there was a need they would supply water in tankers. But where would they get the water from? Residents of Vanachalu and Galibeedu villages near here have objected to water being drawn from sources in their villages as was done last year.

The municipality authorities, including councillors, have been hoodwinking people for the last several decades over drinking water. Politicians endlessly debate the issue of drinking water supply. Some want the Betri Project from where Cauvery water could be drawn for Madikeri, while others are opposed to this. Even during the monsoon season, water supply is not regular. Power failures hit water supply. Generator sets are available but sources in the municipality said funds were not enough to buy diesel to run the machines. Efforts to plug the leakage at Kootuhole and build a substitute pond to store overflowing water at Roshanara, did not help either.

There are complaints that residents in certain localities such as Cauvery Layout and surrounding areas are getting regular supply and have installed several tanks to store water for days. A few have obtained connections, diverting water from the existing pipelines, unauthorisedly.

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Water woes haunt people of Madikeri

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