The newly elected Mayor Sudhir Shetty Kannur said on Friday, September 8, that he will make all efforts to augment drinking water supply to the city from an additional source that is from Adyar vented dam built across the Netravathi on the down stream of Thumbe vented dam on the same river.
Speaking at the council of Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) after getting elected for one-year term, he said that a proposal to construct a jackwell, a water treatment plant, pumphouse and other associated facilities on 10 acre land at Adyar sent by the corporation to the government is pending for approval. “I am hopeful that this project will come through in the next one year,” he said.
Quoting water supply engineers at the corporation former Mayor Premananda Shetty who continues to be the whip in the council, for the second consecutive term, said that the city is expected to get 100 MLD more water to the city from the Adyar project cost of which is estimated at ₹120 crore. It has been planned to get funds for the project from the savings of Jala Siri scheme and other water supply schemes, he said.
Minor Irrigation Department has built the Adyar dam under Paschmima Vahini Scheme to supply water for drinking and irrigation to Mangaluru (Ullal) Assembly constituency.
Mr. Kannur told the council that with shortage in rainfall, water scarcity stares at the corporation this year and the next as water level is depleting in the Netravathi. “Water management will be challenging in this summer or even before that,” he said.
The Mayor said that he will also focus on revenue generation and sorting out issues related to underground drainage management and he will be available for people to meet from 3.30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Congratulating Mr. Kannur on his win, the outgoing Leader of the Opposition in the council Naveen R. D’Souza said that the Mayor should also focus on addressing traffic issues in the city. A separate wing is required to manage sewer or UGD infrastructure and their management, he said adding that with water scarcity looming large the Mayor will have to focus on water management.
Member of Parliament Nalin Kumar Kateel, D. Vedavyasa Kamath and Y. Bharat Shetty, MLAs, also congratulated the Mayor.
