Chances of the Mangaluru City Corporation allowing residents in the southern areas of of the city to link their houses’ sewer lines to the main pipelines, laid under a project funded by the Asian Development Bank, before this monsoon appears to be remote.
Hinting this at a press conference here on Wednesday, commissioner of the corporation Hephsiba Rani Korlapati said that there were complaints that main lines had not been linked in some areas. The corporation is verifying it.
“There are gaps. Unless the gaps are linked it will be difficult to allow people to provide house connection,” she said.
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To a question she said that the linking could be allowed probably after the monsoon.
On the other hand, J.R. Lobo, MLA, Mangaluru City South, maintained that connections could be given.
The project had commenced when Mr. Lobo was the Deputy Project Director of the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project, taken up a decade ago, under which the sewage lines have been laid.
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After Urban Development Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake inaugurated the sewage treatment plant at Jeppinamogaru on January 23, 2015, residents of Shivabagh, Maroli, Tarethota, Pumpwell, Yekkur, Jeppinamogaru, Bajal and the surrounding areas have been waiting to provide house connections.
The 65-km main pipelines from these areas are connected to the 20 million litres a day (MLD) processing capacity plant at Jeppinamogaru. But the corporation has kept people guessing on whether house connections could be given or not.
Mr. Lobo said that he had already conducted a meeting to this effect where it was decided that house connections could be given.
He would conduct another meeting on Friday on the issue.
Deepak Poojary, chairman, Standing Committee for Town Planning and Improvement, said that there are no issues and that connections could be given.
He said he did not understand why officials were not keen on it.
A decision would be taken on Friday, he said.