Water Supply Everyone’s Responsibility, MLA Vedvyas should not Play Politics – Ivan D’Souza

Water Supply Everyone’s Responsibility, MLA Vedvyas should not Play Politics – Ivan D’Souza

Mangaluru: “Today morning, all of us, along with 15 other MCC corporators, met with the Deputy Commissioner of Mangaluru. We asked him about the reason for rationing the water supply since it was not done by an elected body. The reason that he gave for rationing the water supply did not convince us because the current water storage level in the Thumbay Dam is 5.28 meters. In the past, when the water level was at 4 meters we used to supply the water daily. With a water level of 5.28 meters, we estimate that water can be supplied daily for the next 33 days. The total water consumption of Mangaluru is 0.16 Million Cubic Meter. However, the amount of water that evaporates is 0.55 Million Cubic Meter. This is because of the heat. The volume of water that is evaporating is more than the volume of water needed for consumption. That is why I asked the DC, what was the point of storing and rationing the water?” said Congress MLC and Parliamentary Secretary Ivan D’Souza in a press meet held at the DCC Office, Mallikatta here, on April 22.

Addressing the mediapersons Ivan D’Souza said, “I went to the Thumbay Dam and spoke to the engineers there. There is no issue of mismanagement of water; there is enough of water stored in the dam. The DC says that he wants to supply water for 46 days from April 20th to June 5th. That is why he said that they will supply water for 96 hours i.e. 4 days and shut down the supply for two days. But we told him to supply water every alternate day instead because of the risk of evaporation. There are several complaints because the overhead tanks are not getting filled. We suggested that if the water supply is shut down for two days as per DC’s plan, then it will take three extra days to restart the water distribution. This will happen because of airlocks that will be created within the pipelines. We advised the DC to alternate between the single pump and double pump, but told him not to shut down all the pumps.”

He further said, “The DC was shocked to know that we knew so much. He also told us that we had given him a good suggestion and I was happy with all of our corporators. I want to tell MLA Vedvyas Kamath not to play politics on such issues. I have asked several questions in the Vidhana Parishad regarding Mangaluru’s water supply issues and vented dams. How much has Vedvyas Kamath spoken about drinking water in the Vidhana Sabha? What is his contribution? He should involve himself. Instead, he only wants to speak about how J R Lobo, U T Khader or me have not done any work. He wants to escape his responsibilities. Drinking water issues is everybody’s responsibility. There is no question of Congress or BJP in such matters.”

In his statement to the press, Ivan D’Souza said that there was enough water in the dam to last for the next 33 days. When asked about water supply after 33 days he said, “There is a chance that the climate will change. If the climate does not change, we have to substitute the water supply from the dam with water drawn from bore wells and open wells. “

When asked if water supply to MRPL and MCF had been cut Ivan D’Souza said, “Yes, water supply to MRPL has been reduced by half. They are receiving only 10 MGD of water even though they had requested 23 MGD. Similarly, MCF is receiving only 1.2 MGD.”

Mangaluru City Mayor Bhaskar K, Corporator Navin D’Souza, Corporator Jecinta Alfred, and others were also present.