Mangaluru City Corporation will withdraw drinking water rationing in the city from next month, according to Mayor Kavita Sanil.
Addressing presspersons here on Wednesday, Ms. Sanil said that water would be supplied daily in the city from May 1. The Mayor was confident that storage in the two vented dams would last a month and it would rain in June.
She said that the Opposition BJP in the corporation Council was unnecessarily politicising the issue by criticising water rationing saying that it was artificially created. But water rationing from March 20 had been done as a precautionary measure to save water in the Thumbe vented dam as well as in the Shambhoor vented dam of AMR Power Pvt. Ltd. in the upstream of Thumbe dam for the supply to last till May-end.
She alleged that when she visited the Thumbe dam on Saturday she had also invited Ganesh Hosabettu, Leader of the Opposition in the Council, to understand the reality that the inflow from the Netravathi to both the dams had stopped completely. Hence, the civic body had to adopt rationing. But Mr. Hosabettu did not turn up.
She said that Thumbe dam had 6.4 MCM (million cubic metre) of water in store which would last 23 days. The storage at Shambhoor dam stood at 9 MCM which would last 32 days. But if evaporation was high, the storage in both the dams may not last as estimated. In addition, the corporation was drawing water from borewells for supply.
The Mayor exuded the confidence that it would rain in the first half of June itself and hence, the civic body could opt for daily water supply from next month with the existing storage in the dams. But water rationing would go on till this month-end.
“I have faith in the Almighty. You watch, it will rain,” she said.
The Mayor said that as both the dams went dry during last summer the corporation had to drill 43 new borewells and clean 53 open wells.
In addition, private tankers had to be hired for water supply. It all cost the civic body ₹ 1.43 crore.
This year, the civic body has not hired any private tankers for water supply. In case of an emergency, it supplies water with its own tankers.
