MRPL gets 2 MGD water for drinking and safety purposes

Mangalore, April 26: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday directed the Dakshina Kannada district administration to allow Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) to pump 2 million gallons of water per day (MGD) for drinking and safety purposes.

District Commissioner N. S. Channappa Gowda said 2MGD water was released to MRPL on Wednesday following the court's order.

He said that the supply of 2 MGD of water to MRPL followed a directive from the Karnataka High Court.

However, it is unclear whether the release of 2 MGD of water will enable MRPL to restart all the operations in the refinery and to what extent work can resume. Two weeks ago, the refinery had stopped all operations, except maintenance work, after a reduction in water supply from the district administration.

P. P. Upadhya, Director (Technical), MRPL, told this correspondent from New Delhi that he was watching the scene, particularly with regard to supply of water from the district administration.

Mr. Upadhya said, “There is a gap (slip) between the cup and the lip. We are watching.”

He said that a clear picture on how work would resume at MRPL would emerge on Thursday.

The Dakshina Kannada district administration was releasing 0.65 MGD of water on alternate days to MRPL before the issue was taken to court and 0.5 MGD everyday for the past one week, said Mr. Gowda.

He said that the district administration could give 4 MGD if the water level in the Thumbe vented dam crossed 12 feet, depending on rains in the coming days.