Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MS)

Mangaluru, Mar 22: The drop in the level of water in the lifeline of water supply to the city, Thumbay vented dam has gone to 5.45 meters from six meters. It is a great cause of concern for Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC). It is said that this drop in level is due to the complete stoppage of inflow of water from the Netravati River.

The daily requirement of water of the city is 160 MLD. Between the stretch of Padil and Thumbay, 40 MLD of water gets used up.

The water that is supplied from Thumbay vented dam is not limited to the city alone. Mangalore University campus, Bantwal town municipality and also nearby farmers depend on the supply of water from the dam. So the requirement generally shoots up to 200 MLD per day.

In addition, Ullal and Mulky also draw water from the dam. The concerned authority at the MCC have visited Shambhoor to have a look at the dam of AMR Power Pvt Ltd, Disha Power Project dam near Kadaba and Sagar Power Project dam at Uppinangady and took a stock of the situation. It is a matter of grave concern that the sand bed of river Netravati can be seen downstream when one goes above the Thumbay vented dam.

According to the maximum storage capacity of the tank, 14.78 MCM water can be held in the dam, if the water level is maintained at a height of seven meters. But now the water that is held is only 10.83 MCM as the level has dropped to 5.45 meters.

The level during the corresponding period in 2018 was at 5.7 meters. If further reduction in the water level is noticed in the Thumbay vented dam, the water in the AMR dam will be sent to Netravati to satiate the needs of the city dwellers. The MCC officials still feel that the water supply to the city during summer will fall short of requirement.