Mangaluru: While the temperature in City has set a new record due to the rising heat wave, the water level in Thumbay Vented Dam is declining day by day. According to sources, if there is no rain in April 2019 water drought is likely to hit City again.
The water level of the vented dam, which provides drinking water to City, has come down to 5.85 m and the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) is also doing a circus to maintain its status quo. On the one hand, MCC has given priority to drinking water and has put a stop to the use of water for industrial purposes.
In order to maintain the water level which has come down to 5.85 m, the Corporation has decided to get water from the AMR Dam in Shambhur.
Accordingly, the process of releasing water from AMR to Thumbay Dam is already underway and the Corporation has taken steps to ensure that water supply is not disturbed.
According to experts, the water level in Thumbay dam has come down to 5.85m on March 3, which is the lowest in the last four years. In the year after 2019, due to the Coronavirus-induced lockdown, industries and construction work came to a halt and water consumption was reduced. Now that the market, business, industry and work have all recovered, the demand for water has increased by 12 per cent this year compared to 2019. With only 5.85 m of water and the inflow being low, the existing water will be sufficient only for the next 30 to 40 days. There is also a concern.
Though the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has taken adequate precautions in such a situation, the people and industries of City need to cooperate with the Corporation by imposing self-regulation in the use of water.
Amidst all these anxieties, nature has to overcome the water crisis. There are rows of dams along the stretch of Netravati, which is drying up, and it is common for the last Thumbay Dam to run out of water. But if the vented dam, which the people of City believe in for drinking water, is drained, the water crisis will reach a crescendo in the coming days. Therefore, the elders are of the opinion that the only solution to the problem is the entry of rain.
