Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Feb 22: Dakshina Kannada District Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum has ordered the officials of the local city corporation and Karnataka State Pollution Control Board to pay a compensation of Rs 5,000 and court cost of Rs 5,000 to each of the 34 residents of Majilabail within the city limits. Failure to make payment of this sum within 30 days will entail additional penalty of Rs 50 per each passing day, it ordered.

This order was delivered after hearing complaints made by the people living at Majilabail, who have been facing the problem of contaminated well water because of the dysfunctional drainage system in the area since the last two years. The officials have been charged with improper handling of  complaints filed by the residents.

This information was given at a press conference convened in the city, by a resident of Majilabail, B C Fernandes. “Several wells in Majilabail had been rendered useless since the last two years because of faulty functioning of underground drainage system. We had complained to the city corporation commissioner, officer in charge of the area, and the office of Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, both orally and in writing. As the officials did not address the problem for long, we approached consumers’ forum,” he explained.

He explained that the forum had conducted spot inspection to determine the cause behind water of these wells getting polluted. After this process, it ordered the officials to pay penalties for their failure to effectively discharge their duties. The officials have also been ordered to repair the underground drainage system and take steps to make sure that the water of these wells becomes potable again, he explained. Fernandes expressed happiness at the success of the two-year long fight of residents.

Other residents of the locality, Narayan, Sylvester, Thomas D’Souza, and Joseph Theodore, were present at the press conference.