A joint official inspection of two sewage wet wells of Mangalore City Corporation and a natural stream following the suspected leak or overflow of sewage into the stream which joined the Phalguni in the upper reaches of Malavoor vented dam found no traces of sewage flow on Sunday.
The inspection was led by Mayor Kavita Sanil, Mohammed Nazir, corporation Commissioner, Rajashekar Puranik, Environment Officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), and other officials from the board and the corporation.
The wet wells No 9 B 1 at Kongur and No 9 near Pachchanady had generator back-up to pump sewage to the sewage treatment plant at Pachchanady during power failure.
Though the Phalguni’s water in the downstream of the dam had turned black in February itself, the issue came to limelight only after three head of cattle and fish were found dead on the banks of the river downstream of the dam a week ago.
The Mayor and the Commissioner dismissed the suspicion of the board that the sewage flow from the wet wells and the sewage treatment plant which joined the stream at Manjalpade through a network of storm-water drains could have polluted the river.
They said that if that would have been the case, the river water in the upstream of the dam should also have been polluted in February itself as the gates of the dam had been closed by then and there was no outflow. The sewage should have accumulated in the dam as it was stagnant water. On the contrary, water stored in the dam was clean.
The Commissioner said that sewage water at many places along the Netravathi directly flowed into the river (Netravathi) in the upstream of Thumbe vented dam. In addition, sewage water in the drains joined the Gurupur in other parts of the city. But no cases of fish kill or death of cattle have been reported.
But Mr. Puranik maintained that the overflow reported from the wet wells in January and February might have got accumulated downstream of the dam due to high tide.
