Water level at Thumbe drops further to 6.6 feet

With water level at Thumbe vented dam depleting to 6.6 feet on Friday evening, against the maximum level of 13 feet, the only hope for Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) is the 2 mcm (million cubic metres) of water available at Disha Hydel Power Project dam across the Kumaradhara, a tributary of the Netravathi, near Kadaba in Puttur taluk.

But water supply officials in the civic body are not sure whether the water will reach Thumbe dam even if it is released. According to them, 1 mcm would suffice to meet the city’s drinking water needs for four days. Officials said the water might reach Thumbe dam only if the vented dam across the Kumaradhara in Uppinangady, which supplies water to Puttur town, overflows. This dam is in between Kadaba and Thumbe.

According to an official, the dam at Kadaba has water stored after water from a hydel power project at Kempu Hole, near Gundia, was released two days ago.

H.N. Gopalakrishna, Commissioner, Mangaluru City Corporation, said at the monthly meeting of the council on Friday that the corporation has written to the deputy commissioner requesting him to order release of the water stored at Kadaba dam.

The commissioner said the water now available at Thumbe might last for a week, with water supplied on alternate days.

Meanwhile, the Opposition BJP said the corporation has not handled the water issue properly this year. Some councillors, from both the BJP and a few from the Congress as well, alleged that AMR Power Pvt. Ltd. at Shambhoor had used water for power production till February 15.

Premananda Shetty, a BJP councillor and former Leader of the Opposition, said the corporation had not taken precautionary measures though it knew the rain forecast was poor.