The Hindu 20.08.2012
‘Third dam on Swarna will take care of Udupi’s water needs’
K. Raghupati Bhat, Udupi MLA, said on Saturday that the
Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) was planning to take up the third
stage work of Swarna River Drinking Water Scheme to provide more
drinking water to the city.
He was speaking at the ‘Jago Shasak Jago’, an interaction programme, organised by the Udupi Consumers’ Forum here on Saturday.
To
a question by trustee of the forum U.L. Kamath, Mr. Bhat said under the
third stage works, a third dam would be built on the Swarna river at
Yennehole in Udupi district. That would take care of all future drinking
water needs of the city, he said. It was not possible to increase the
height of the second stage dam constructed at Shiroor as the areas
behind it would get flooded. Already the municipality was providing
round-the-clock drinking water to the city, he said.
Water to Shanti Nagar
Benedict
Naronha, an advocate, contested Mr. Bhat’s statement and said that the
Shanti Nagar area in the city was not getting round-the-clock water
supply despite being in a low-lying area. The water pipelines were of a
substandard quality, he said.
Mr. Bhat said that lack
of water supply to Shanti Nagar was due to a technical problem, which
would be set right shortly. To ensure regular supply of water next
summer, the municipality would be taking up mechanical removal of silt
near the Baje dam, he said.
To a question by Lakshmi
Bai, Mr. Bhat said the present taluk office would be shifted to the Old
Deputy Commissioner’s Office premises shortly.
A mini
Vidhan Soudha on the lines of the District Offices Complex would be
constructed on the present taluk office premises. A Land Tribunal was
already functioning there, but it did not have a head. The Assistant
Commissioner of Kundapur Sub-Division was holding additional charge as
head of the Land Tribunal.
When president of Railway
Yatri Sangha R.L. Dias said that autorickshaw operators were charging
Rs. 150 to Udupi and Rs. 100 to Manipal from the railway station, Mr.
Bhat said that autorickshaws had to compulsorily use the flag meters and
action can be initiated against them for excess charge, he said.
To
a complaint by T. Angara that there was no provision for solid waste
management in Kediyoor village and that the roads were in poor shape
there, Mr. Bhat said that State Government had released Rs. 10 crore for
rural roads in Udupi Assembly constituency. The roads in Kediyoor would
be included in it.
The Udupi City Municipal Council
was planning to install a plant to generate power using solid waste by
pyrolysis method. This plant would require 100 tonnes of waste daily.
Udupi city was generating 60 tonnes of waste daily. Hence the waste from
neighbouring villages from Saligrama to Katapady would be required for
it, solving the garbage problem in these villages, Mr. Bhat said.
