Daijiworld News Network - Mangalore (VM)
Mangalore, Mar 10: Water woes in Mangalore city have become the order of the day. On one hand attempts are being made to check illegal water connections and on the other hand the new water pipeline to supply water to city under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan is under construction.
At a total cost of Rs 110 crore, the pipeline laying works under the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (Kudcemp) will be completed by this year end. This is a ray of hope to those who have been hard hit due to the severe water problem faced recently by the city.
Speaking to media persons during a visit to the site on Thursday March 9, Kudcemp Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) Padmanabha Ullal said that the water supply scheme is designed for the projected population in the year 2026, which will be about 6.80 lac.
Under the scheme, an additional 80 MLD (million litres per day) of water is proposed to be supplied taking the total supply to 162 MLD, out of which, provision is made to supply 10 MLD of water to Ullal town, 2 MLD of water to Mulki town and 8 MLD of water to en route villages between Thumbe and Padil. At present, Mangalore City is supplied with 82 MLD of water.
The new headworks (Jackwell cum Pumphouse) of 80 MLD capacity near the existing headworks at Thumbe and 80 MLD capacity water treatment plant near the existing treatment plant at Ramalkatte are under progress.
Treated water will be pumped to the 12 million litre capacity Ground Level Service Reservoir (GLSR) at Padil through a new rising of 1,100 mm (44 inches) diameter Mild Steel (MS) pipeline of about 14 km length along National Highway 48. From Padil, the water will be distributed to the whole of Mangalore city through a network of distribution lines.
Meanwhile, a total of 13 overhead tanks and four GLSRs are under construction. At present, there are 15 overhead tanks and 7 GLSRs in different locations in Mangalore. The present storage capacity of the reservoirs is 35 million litres which will be enhanced to 64 million litres after completion of the scheme.