Issues relating to underground sewage network and associated facilities built in the city from availing loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) a decade ago rocked the council meeting of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) on Wednesday with no immediate solutions in the offing.
Councillors pointed out at the non-functioning of wet wells, pumpsets fitted to them and overflowing sewage to rivulets and storm water drains.
S. Appi, a senior Congress councillor, pointed out that of four pumpsets connected to wet well number 7 (Jeppu Bappal) only one was functioning and the remaining three were defunct since six months. Hence the corporation has left the sewage to open drains.
Replying to it Gururaj Maralihalli, Executive Engineer, said that the pumps would be repaired within the next fortnight.
Ayazz, a member from the Social Democratic Party of India, said that sewage in Katipalla and Krishnapura areas has been overflowing to paddy fields due to block in manholes.
Sudhir Shetty Kannur, a BJP member, said that of four wet wells connected to the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Jeppinamogaru sewage from only one wet well also at Jeppinamogaru was being pumped to the STP.
Sewage from other three wet wells at Jalligudda, Faisalnagar and Padil were not being pumped to the same STP. Hence they have become defunct.
Responding to it Mr. Maralihalli said that it was due to missing links of sewage network built a decade ago.
Hence sewage was not flowing to the remaining three wet wells to pump it in turn to the STP. He said that spots of missing links have been identified and estimation to link the underground pipelines in such places has been prepared under a Union government scheme and sent for the State government’s approval.
A representative of KUIDFC (Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation) said that it might take a month for the government to approve it.
Hence works can not be started immediately and the civic body would have to wait for more than a month to start the works.
Premananda Shetty, a BJP councillor, took objection to the way the corporation gave details of all works taken up under the loan from the bank to all councillors.
The corporation officials have given only the file number and package number of works without mentioning the details of works taken up and taken into possession from the KUIDFC, he said.