Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)
Mangaluru, Feb 18: Dakshina Kannada district in-charge minister, B Ramanath Rai, said that the water level at Thumbay vented dam which supplies water to the city and areas around it, will be raised to six metres from the current five feet, to meet water needs of the region. He said that budgetary allocation of Rs 32 crore is expected to be made in the current year's budget for payment of compensation to owners of land which will go under water due to this increase. "Once this grant is announced, we will officially take steps to increase the storage level," he clarified.
Rai was speaking after presiding over a progress review meeting held in the office of the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district here, to discuss works to be undertaken in the backdrop of Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks having been declared as drought-hit, on Friday February 17. He also passed on instructions to officials of various departments present at the meeting on the issue, besides asking the district administration to take all precautionary measures to see that drinking water supply position, which is comfortable now, continues to be so even during summer.
"For the first time in the history, two taluks of Dakshina Kannada district have been listed under drought-hit regions. Therefore, officials have to take up the work of providing drinking water and meeting other needs of these taluks on war footing. There should be no lacunae in catering to the needs of the people," he stressed.
In his address, deputy commissioner of the district, Dr K G Jagadeesh, noted that at present Thumbay vented dam holds five metres of water where a total of 7.65 mcm water is available. There is also inflow into the reservoir, and everyday, 160 mld water is being pumped out each day. He said that as per the current estimate, there may not be any water scarcity in normal course, but preemptive measures may be required to be undertaken if water inflow drops significantly. He said that so far, there has not been water scarcity in these two taluks.
He said that the areas which may face water problems during summer in Mangaluru and Bantwal taluks have already been identified by the district administration. They include three wards in the city, 12 wards in Ullal municipality, nine wards in Bantwal municipality, 17 in Mulky municipality, 11 wards in Kotekar town panchayat and parts of 16 wards of Vittal town panchayat. Additional deputy commissioner, Kumar, said that ten lac rupees to each of the taluk panchayats and five lac rupees to each of the urban local bodies has been released to supply water through tankers in case of need.
Chief executive officer of Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat, Dr M R Ravi, said that proposal for undertaking 933 new works has been sent to the state government relating to drinking water in the district, which will cost Rs 19 crore. He added that it has been decided to undertake renovation work for 19 ponds in Mangaluru taluk and 42 ponds in Bantwal taluk at a cost of Rs 13 lac. He said that it has been proposed to provide a minimum of one vented dam to each of the villages to augment water resources in these villages. These works can be undertaken under National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme at a cost of Rs 2.3 lac per dam as per model action plan, which has sent for government's approval, he added.
MLA, Mohiuddin Bava, was present.