Karkala: Unscientific drainage system renders agricultural land useless

R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala

Karkala, Aug 2: As a result of the unscientifically planned underground drainage system, nearly 35 acres of agricultural land has been transformed into a useless and uncultivable land. It is quite clear that the damage is the result of starting a project without studying its advantages and disadvantages.

The Karnataka City Water Supply and Drainage Board had planned to implement the underground drainage system in the Karkala town municipal limits, back in the year 1993. Drainage mud pipelines were dug upto a total area of 63 km at a cost of Rs 62 lac.

A sewage treatment plant was constructed across a two-acre land near Kabettu Kattemar Pade. Five oxidation ponds were built on one acre of the land, having a total capacity of 1.2 million gallons. A total of 238 connections comprising both residential and commercial centers were connected to these drainage lines altogether.

Later, various complaints were received with regard to this project. It came to light that the pipelines used to serve this purpose were of low quality and the municipal officials had played a foul game pertaining to the same. Leakage, breakage and other major and minor damages were observed at various points, leaving behind a clear cut message that the entire project was unscientifically planned.

The development of the Karkala has been going on at a turtle speed. It is also the fate of this city that the implementation of drainage system here in Karkala has been a failure, before the project could even reach completion.

As a result of the internal leakages in the underground pipes, the wells in Market road, Kamath lane, Hiriangady and various other places, which have been used for drinking water purposes, are now completely mixed with drainage water, leaving the well water unsafe and unfit for use.

The city water supply and underground drainage board has been the primary reason for the uselessness of the private cultivable land. Hiriyangady Bailugadde residents Sridhar Moily, Shinoji Rao, Balaji Rao, Anand Pandith, Narayan Kamath, Ramakrishna Rao, Bhoja Poojary, Shyam Shetty, Mayila Devadiga, Lakshman Devadiga, Channoji Rao, Bemma Rao, Narayan Moily, Mary, Manguru Shetty, Bajila Poojary, Ramu and others have lost their cultivable land, due to the impact of the underground drainage leak.

The leaked drainage water has been accumulating in the fields in Hiriyadka and surroundings, but still the municipal office has been turning a deaf ear to this issue. People in the vicinity have even developed various skin diseases. The cleaning and clearing of this menace is the need of the hour.

A few years ago, the Mudaru gram panchayat had started constructing an underground drainage on the pretext of constructing a gutter. It had also planned to dispose the drainage water off to the Swarna River, reportedly without seeking permission from the district administration. On the other hand, a dam had been constructed in Mundli and the water thus collected had been supplied to the locals of the Karkala Town Municipal limits for their basic use, including drinking.

The Karkala town municipal, in the general body meeting, had strictly ordered the Mudaru gram panchayat to not let the drainage into Swarna river, thus getting it to the notice of the district administration as well. As the district administration urged the Mudaru gram panchayat not to violate the safety and cleanliness norms, the panchayat had to drop out the plans of underground drainage. With regard to this matter, the locals of Hiriangady are now questioning as to what steps the Karkala town municipal has taken while the drinking water wells have been contaminated due to the leaking drainages.

The PWD depatment has thus sent a report with reference to the implementation of underground drainage system across Karkala town municipal limits, at a total cost of Rs 51 crores. The report has been sent to the state government in 2012 for sanction, but is yet to be cleared.