Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jul 14: Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, A B Ibrahim, has asked the concerned to initiate steps to acquire 276.82 acres of land needed to increase height of Thumbe dam to seven metres from the current four metres. He passed this instruction after presiding over the progress review meeting about development works within the city corporation limits held here on Monday July 13.

At the said meeting, held in the office of the district deputy commissioner, the city corporation officials explained about their keenness to ensure 24 hours drinking water supply within the corporation limits. In-charge commissioner of the city corporation, Gokuldas Nayak, informed that the work on the new vented dam had been entrusted to Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and that a sum of Rs 21.97 crore has already been paid to the board. He said that in tune with the site of the dam and after making changes in the estimate and design, a revised estimate for Rs 75.50 crore has been prepared for the dam.

He also informed that leakage and overflowing of underground drainage line is observed in old municipal areas as these pipes and pits are unable to handle added pressure due to increase in density of population. He said that a proposal to include overall renovation of the underground drainage network in the old municipal area in the second phase of Asian Development Bank project is before the government. Nayak explained that survey and study on this proposal has been entrusted by the government to GKW Consultants Kolkata. He also informed that the proposed survey also includes about 100 km of pipeline which had been left out during the execution of Rs 218 crore project of KUDCEMP in the past.

City mayor Jacinta Vijay Alfred, deputy mayor, Purushotham Chitrapur, additional deputy commissioner, Sadashiva Prabhu, executive engineer of Karnataka WAter Supply and Sewerage Board, Nataraj, and ohers were present.