Precious Water Seen Lost due to Leakage since 9 Months at Mallikatta
Mangaluru: We have seen in the past years, when it gets closer to Summer time, Mangaluru City Corporation Mayor and other Officials decide on water rationing to control water usage, but on the other hands if you look at all the precious water that is seen wasted due to faulty and rusty pipes, or pipes broken by workers during development work etc- the engineers and other officials at MCC turn a blind eye against it. One of the members of Area Sabha and Ward Committee had questioned, “Can we claim zero billing for the rationed drinking water supply for 400 Lakh Litres intentionally and deliberately wasted every day due to negligence in the absence of Ward Committee and Area Sabhas? We should demand our dues”.
Even though this year, there are no plans of water rationing by MCC, but here we have a civic issue, where there is heavy water leakage coming out from the concrete road in front of Castle Bagh Apartments, opposite to ‘Alakanada’-the residence of one of the Bharath Beedies Pvt Ltd partners, at Mallikatta, Mangaluru. There is water leakage, which may be due to the carelessness of workers when the new concrete work was done on that stretch of the road or could be due to faulty pipe- but whatever could be the reason, no one from MCC has bothered to fix it, for the last nine months or so.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Naveen Chandra ( a retired bank officer from SBI, Mumbai) residing in Castle Bagh Apartments since two decades, with his neighbour Aloysius D’Souza, ( also a retired bank officer from Vijaya Bank ) standing by his side, said, “Despite repeated complaints made to the officials of MCC for the last 8-9 months, they have totally ignored our pleas to repair or plug the leakage. While water is precious these days but losing water day and night through such kind of carelessness and ignorance of the City Officials, is not a healthy sign.
One of the MCC engineers, who had once visited the spot, and assured that the problem will be taken care soon, but until now we have not seen any action. We thought of highlighting this issue through media, and Team Mangalorean/Mangalorean.com obliged our request, and we hope that this issue is rectified at the earliest before more precious water is lost”. While only seniors like Naveen Chandra and Aloysius D’Souza are showing concern towards this civic issue, it would be nice if other residents in that area, also raise their voice, so that the long-pending civic problem will be rectified.
Seen in photo L-R : Aloysius D’s ouza and Naveen Chandra
Yes, this water pipe is losing gallons and gallons of water 24X7 since over nine months, is something that the civic body should take care without further delay. But looking at the situation, it seems like no MCC officials nor the corporator has taken any action to fix this problem until now, even after repeated complaints from the residents nearby. While MCC claims that it has to collect payment of water bills in crores – and on the other hand MCC is losing gallons of water due to faulty leakages, like this one. While most of the City is dying of thirst due to low water supply during summer times, and here we have water being lost due to human error and negligence. Water leaks are becoming a bigger cause for concern with corporations/municipalities desperately trying to conserve more water, while trying to decrease the amount of clean water that is being wasted through burst water pipes.
Old water infrastructure has been a problem for MCC with old metal pipes rusting, loose bolts giving way, and clean water gushing onto the street or into drains, costing a fortune in revenue. So how much water does the city actually lose because of this? A LOT! The City’s creaking water system is leaking thousands of litres every day in regions currently facing usage restrictions as reservoirs run perilously low during hot weather. Many a times MCC warns residents to limit their water usage during summer, but don’t bother to fix leaky or faulty pipes that leak out gallons of water. Bah humbug!
Locals say this is indicative of the volume of water being wasted and leaking out of the city’s aging water infrastructure or human error. If the leaks were fixed there would be no need to conserve water. If you examine some of the MCC water connection pipes you will notice some shocking results- most pipes in the distribution system in a bad condition. The pipes are either leaking and the dead ends capped with wooden/metal corks increasing the likelihood of water-borne diseases. Presence of heavy metals like iron and lead corroding from the pipes and joints could far exceed limits of safe drinking water. Sadly, MCC doesn’t care about citizens health safety.
Some of pipes looked new; most were older and had sprung tiny leaks out of rust holes. Not only has the municipal water system been slow to branch out, it also leaks like cheesecloth. In the established neighborhoods that enjoy the relative reliability of a MCC hookup, 44 percent of the city’s water supply either seeps out through aging pipes or gets siphoned away by thieves. Summers bring shortages, even for those served by the city’s plumbing. Everywhere, the steep ascent of demand has caused a run on groundwater. Well owners drill deeper and deeper, chasing the water table downward as they all keep draining it further.
And on the other hand, we have these faulty/leaky water pipes that lose gallons of water-what a waste? Hope this report will awaken the concerned MCC officials to sprung into action, and fix this leaking water pipe, at least now, after nine months, so that not a single drop of precious water is lost- and make the nearby residents happy, including Senior Citizens, Naveen Chandra and Aloysius D’souza.