The Hindu : Row over supply of water to Mysore, Mandya

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 20, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Row over supply of water to Mysore, Mandya

By Our Staff Correspondent

Mysore Feb. 19 . A war of words, reminiscent of the summer of 2000, has broken out between politicians of Mysore and farmers from Mandya over the sharing of drinking water.

With the water level in the Krishnaraja Sagar declining at a rapid rate even before the onset of summer, the authorities are preparing for the worst. The water level in the reservoir is hovering around 70 ft. as against the maximum level of 124.80 ft. and is almost 35 ft. lower than the water level during the corresponding period last year.

The acrimony between politicians in Mysore and farmers in Mandya is reckoned to be a precursor to the impending clash between the two in the days ahead. The immediate cause for the present round of animosity can be traced to attempts by a group of farmers near Hongalli to disrupt water from being lifted to the pumping station on Tuesday. More than 50 farmers assembled near the canal and tried to hinder the workers of the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) as they tried to lift water from the canal. However, police intervened to control the situation. The authorities were promised adequate power supply to ensure that there was no disruption in pumping water to the city. Miffed over the incident, the former Mayor, Narayan, criticised the Mandya farmers and warned them against a possible agitation by elected representatives and political leaders from Mysore.

Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Narayan said the people of Mysore were hard pressed for water throughout the year and the problem was acute during summer.

He said more than 10 lakh people depended on water pumped from Belagola and Hongalli stations and farmers should not deny them their basic rights. While the Mandya farmers did not protest the release of water to Tamil Nadu, they were impeding the efforts of the local authorities to meet drinking water demands of Mysore. The older areas of the city, including Agrahara, Vidyaranyapuram, Ramanuja Road, Jayanagar, and Srirampura, are among the worst affected while the water supplied from Melapura caters to N.R. Mohalla and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the Vani Vilas Waterworks, which is responsible for supplying drinking water to the city, began lifting additional water from the canal bed on Wednesday.

The emergency pumping station at Belagola will be commissioned to mitigate any shortfall arising in supply of adequate water to the city. The emergency pumping station will lift 12 million litres of water a day from the riverbed.

Sources said with the emergency pumping station ready to cope with the demands, and the Melapura Waterworks already functional, the city would not witness the water riots that were played out on the streets of Mysore during the summer of 2000.

However, this is only a small consolation to the people of Mysore, especially those residing in the new localities. Mr. Narayan and others had sought a new project to meet the drinking water requirements of the city. They had submitted a proposal that entailed lifting water from the Kabini river bed from the outskirts of the city and pumped to the southern and western extensions of the city. The Government is yet to sanction this Rs. 15-crore project.

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