The Hindu - Karnataka 01.08.2009
MCC resolves to remove illegal water connections
Staff Correspondent
| Mayor directs engineers to prepare a list of unauthorised connections within 10 days |
Proposal to supply water to UPCL opposed
Rs. 49.9-lakh market complex at Bejai approved
— Photo: R. Eswarraj 
MAKING A POINT: Shankar Bhat (second from left), Mayor, speaking at the monthly meeting of the city corporation in Mangalore on Friday. Rajani Dugganna, Deputy Mayor, is to his right.
MANGALORE: The Mangalore City Corporation council in its meeting on Friday resolved to take immediate steps to disconnect all unauthorised water connections from the main pipeline that supplies water to the city from the Thumbe vented dam.
Mayor M. Shankar Bhat directed engineers to prepare a list of illegal connections within 10 days. The corporation would file criminal and civil cases against those who had taken such connections, he said.
Mr. Bhat said that a meeting would be held with the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, the Chief Executive Officer of the zilla panchayat, MLAs, and other elected representatives shortly to discuss this issue.
The Mayor said that district in-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar had convened a meeting of elected representatives and officials sometime ago to resolve this issue. Accordingly, steps had been taken to supply water to people living in the limits of gram panchayats between Thumbe and the city with a 2-MGD (million gallons a day) pipeline.
A new pump, estimated to cost Rs. 35 lakh, had been installed at Thumbe to pump water to the pipeline. In spite of this, the people living between Thumbe and the city continued to draw water from the main 18-MGD pipeline. There could be at least 25 such illegal connections there, he said. The Mayor said that it was unfair to draw water illegally when the corporation was providing water to the people in the gram panchayat limits. G.V. Rajashekaramurthy, Executive Engineer, told the council that illegal tapping had resulted in 30 to 40 per cent reduction in the quantity of water being supplied to the city.
Water to UPCL
The Opposition members in the council objected to a proposal of the civic body to supply 100 cubic metres of water an hour (0.5 MGD or 2.54 million litres a day) to Udupi Power Corporation Ltd. for its storage yard on the premises of New Mangalore Port.
Clarification
The Mayor told the members that the corporation would supply water to UPCL only after two years. But the company needed an assurance letter to this effect. As the Government had laid an additional 18-MGD capacity pipeline from Thumbe to the city, there would be an increase in the quantity of water being supplied to the city in two years.
In addition, the civic body was planning to get water from the Lakhya dam at Kudremukh. Hence the city might not face any problem despite supplying water to UPCL after two years, he said.
However, the council resolved to supply water to UPCL only if there was excess water after meeting the drinking water requirements of the city.
Market complex
The council approved a proposal to build a market complex at Bejai at an estimated cost of Rs. 49.9 lakh. It was decided to entrust the construction to Karnataka Land Army Corporation Ltd., a State Government undertaking.
Mariyamma Thomas, member, urged the Mayor to take steps to fill potholes on roads that had been damaged owing to the recent heavy rain. However, none of the members appeared to have taken this subject seriously as they chose to discuss various other subjects.
