Mangaluru: Lifting water from Netravati for non-drinking purposes banned

Mangaluru, Apr 28: The water scarcity in the region has forced the Dakshina Kannada district administration to ban lifting of water from Netravati river except for drinking purpose.

Deputy Commissioner AB Ibrahim issued a fresh order banning lifting water from the river between Thumbe vented dam and AMR Power Pvt. Ltd.'s vented dam at Shambhoor for irrigation, construction and other non-drinking purposes.

“Bantwal Town Municipal Council and gram panchayats of the areas between the two dams could lift water for drinking only. Others should not lift water from the river for any other purpose, including for farming and industrial,” the DC ordered. The order would be in force at least for a week.

The order also banned lifting water from the AMR Power Project's dam at Shambhoor for any industrial purpose. It applied to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd. and other industries.

The order has been issued because water storage at Thumbe dam, which supplies drinking water to the city, has depleted.

It said that the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation should get the help of the police to implement the order in case if there was any requirement.

It said that the groundwater level in district as a whole has decreased considerably due to shortage in rainfall and now the severe summer. Many borewells and open wells have dried up.

It has resulted in water scarcity, particularly for drinking. Water was being supplied through tankers in some rural and urban areas. Scarcity of drinking water is severe in the jurisdiction of Ullal City Municipal Council, Mulki Town Panchayat and Haleyangady.

Mr. Ibrahim said that about five lakh people lived in the jurisdiction of the corporation and one lakh people lived in the jurisdiction of Ullal and Mulki. All of them get water from the Thumbe. Now, the inflow at the Thumbe dam has completely stopped.

The order said that water from the AMR Power Project's dam has been released to the Thumbe dam, which is in the downstream, only for seven days, that is from March 29 to March 31, April 11 to April 13 and on April 20. Now, the priority would be to supply water for drinking purpose, otherwise the scarcity situation would only aggravate.