K. Raghupati Bhat, Udupi MLA, said on Saturday that the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) was planning to take up the third stage work of Swarna River Drinking Water Scheme to provide more drinking water to the city.
He was speaking at the ‘Jago Shasak Jago’, an interaction programme, organised by the Udupi Consumers’ Forum here on Saturday.
To a question by trustee of the forum U.L. Kamath, Mr. Bhat said under the third stage works, a third dam would be built on the Swarna river at Yennehole in Udupi district. That would take care of all future drinking water needs of the city, he said. It was not possible to increase the height of the second stage dam constructed at Shiroor as the areas behind it would get flooded. Already the municipality was providing round-the-clock drinking water to the city, he said.
Water to Shanti Nagar
Benedict Naronha, an advocate, contested Mr. Bhat’s statement and said that the Shanti Nagar area in the city was not getting round-the-clock water supply despite being in a low-lying area. The water pipelines were of a substandard quality, he said.
Mr. Bhat said that lack of water supply to Shanti Nagar was due to a technical problem, which would be set right shortly. To ensure regular supply of water next summer, the municipality would be taking up mechanical removal of silt near the Baje dam, he said.
To a question by Lakshmi Bai, Mr. Bhat said the present taluk office would be shifted to the Old Deputy Commissioner’s Office premises shortly.
A mini Vidhan Soudha on the lines of the District Offices Complex would be constructed on the present taluk office premises. A Land Tribunal was already functioning there, but it did not have a head. The Assistant Commissioner of Kundapur Sub-Division was holding additional charge as head of the Land Tribunal.
When president of Railway Yatri Sangha R.L. Dias said that autorickshaw operators were charging Rs. 150 to Udupi and Rs. 100 to Manipal from the railway station, Mr. Bhat said that autorickshaws had to compulsorily use the flag meters and action can be initiated against them for excess charge, he said.
To a complaint by T. Angara that there was no provision for solid waste management in Kediyoor village and that the roads were in poor shape there, Mr. Bhat said that State Government had released Rs. 10 crore for rural roads in Udupi Assembly constituency. The roads in Kediyoor would be included in it.
The Udupi City Municipal Council was planning to install a plant to generate power using solid waste by pyrolysis method. This plant would require 100 tonnes of waste daily. Udupi city was generating 60 tonnes of waste daily. Hence the waste from neighbouring villages from Saligrama to Katapady would be required for it, solving the garbage problem in these villages, Mr. Bhat said.
