Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (HB/EP) 

Udupi, Aug 9: “The campaign against negligence of authorities towards maintenance of Indrani rivulet is not recent. It is over three decades old. It began in 1981 and its complexity kept on increasing. There are hundreds of documents to prove that Udupi city municipal council (CMC) is directly responsible for the current despicable condition of Indrani rivulet and its thoroughly contaminated water. It is unfortunate that on account of acquisition of land around the rivulet, Indrani rivulet now looks like a minor drain,” noted Human Rights Protection Foundation president, Ravindranath Shanbhag. 

He was speaking at a meeting on public interest litigation on the above issue, convened at Kunjibettu Law College. “The purification unit located at Nittoor has stopped functioning. As the area governed by the municipal council developed, scarcity of basic needs became acute. Meetings had been organized under the leadership of noted litterateur, dramatist and social activist, Dr Shivaram Karanth on the issue of conservation of this rivulet in the past. But people did not evince interest in this issue then,” Shanbhag added. 

“The map of drainage pipelines in the city is faulty. A manhole for toilet water was created in between the flow of clean water. Waste water flows in open drains in some wards even now. While issuing completion certificates to buildings, the authorities just obtain bonds from the concerned instead of ensuring that all the conditions are fulfilled by them. The concerned department has closed its eyes to these things. A water sale scam had also taken place in the city some decades ago," Shanbhag said. 

“Biochemical oxygen demand situation has worsened in the wells of Kalmadi residents now. The situation is so bad that it cannot be reversed in future. 75% of the problem will be solved if suitable arrangement is made to handle this situation,” he observed. 

“Udupi municipal council has not provided suitable basic infrastructure to the people. Therefore, inspections should be held before no objection certificates (NOC) are granted for constructing buildings. NOC should not be issued even if one discrepancy is found. A firm decision should be taken in this connection,” he said. 

He also revealed that he had more than 100 documents to prove his case. 

Retired high court advocate, Basava Prabhu, said that if human rights are violated against a person or organization, such person or organization can file public interest litigation (PIL) even in local court. “Expenditure will also be less. But as PIL were getting misused, restrictions were imposed. Justice is possible if suitable proof and documents are provided. There is lack of awareness among the people in this respect,” he said. 

“The municipal council cannot escape from its responsibilities by citing lack of funds to provide basic amenities regarding Indrani rivulet pollution. A new case need not be filed against it if the council admits to its lapses and shoulders the responsibility of setting the issues right. There are possibilities of filing public interest litigation or class action suit with documents if the municipality continues to neglect the problems faced by the people,” he said.