R B Jagadish/Pareekshith Shet
Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala/Udupi (SP)

Karkala/Udupi, May 1: River Swarna, which originates at the foot of the western ghats and flows through Mundli and Baje to reach its final destination at Arabian Sea, is drying up fast. As a consequence, both the municipal limits here and Udupi municipal area are facing the prospects of facing a grim situation as far as drinking water is concerned.

At present, the water which gets collected at the vented dam built at Mundli here is passed through the purification plant at Ramasamudra before pumping it to the overhead tank, from where water reaches homes of people through taps. River Swarna also passes through Hiriyadka, and the water stored at the vented dam built at Baje is the primary source of water supply for Udupi.

The rainfall during the last season was less than normal. Moreover, rainfall which is normally experienced during March and April did not occur this time. This has caused water level in River Swarna to steeply deplete. At present, 2 mld of water is being supplied within the municipal limits. At this rate, the municipal administration says, it can maintain water supply only for the next 20 days.

There are over 15 public wells within municipal limit, out of which only two are being used. Because of unscientific execution of underground drainage system, effluents from the drainage system get into the public and private wells alike. The work on construction of two new wells near Anekere, increasing the depth of a well at Kuntalpady, and the construction of a new well at Jarigudde are in progress. The municipality is using grant of Rs 20 lac released by the state government under natural calamities for this purpose.

Before a vented dam was built at Mundli, the water which accumulated at Ramasamudra was being used for supply to households. History teaches us that Ramasamudra was built during the rule of Bairavarasa, who ruled the town in the past. He had built this lake in memory of his son, Ramanath, who was soft and gentle, and who met untimely death. Rainwater gets accumulated in Ramasamudra and we can see standing water in it the entire year. The municipality here has in the past used this water for providing drinking water after purifying it, and this year too this is being resorted to.

Chief officer of the municipal council here, Rayappa, notes that people need to preserve nature, as the world will face disaster if we neglect nature. Because forest is dwindling, rainfall has come down. This is the time for the mankind to wake up and take notice, and everyone should develop the concern to conserve environment, he adds.

Udupi facing acute water shortage

Threat of drought looms large over Udupi as the dam is on the verge of becoming empty. What is more startling is that the town municipal council has not yet taken precautionary measure in view of the circumstances.

Water is available in only one dam out of the two at present which is expected to last only for a few days. As per reports, drought will hit Udupi if suitable action is not taken immediately.

Water was being supplied to 35 wards from Baje and Shiroor dams. Shiroor dam is empty at present. Only 3 meter water is remaining in Baje dam which is estimated to last for only twenty days. The increasing heat wave has evaporated the water. Further, the irresponsibiliy of the municipal council in not cleaning the dam for long has made matters worse.

The council supplies water once in two days in some wards and once in three days in some other wards. As the water is being left only for a few hours, people are unable to store it in their tanks.

It is essential that people use water sparingly and council takes up proper steps to clean up the dam so that more water can be stored in future.

Frustrated by gravity of water problem, people from Kempugudde migrate

Unable to bear with the water shortage that has been bothering them since long, people residing at Kempugudde area in Iruvathur, which is located at the border of Udupi district, have chosen to leave this place in search of greener pastures. Neither the district administration nor the people's representatives have been able to address their problems and provide a lasting solution to water shortage.

Several years back, house sites were allotted to the landless at Kempugudde. But the district administration failed to provide basic facilities needed for them to live there. Specifically, drinking water, street lights, asphalted roads and storm drain facilities were not properly provided. The people living there, who find it hard to live under such conditions, are seen to be shifting base to other places.

In the recent past over six families living at Kempugudde locked their houses and went elsewhere. It is gathered that the main problem which affected them was shortage of drinking water. Some of the wells in the area have gone dry, while in some others, the water level is so low that the earth at the bottom is clearly visible. So, the people there have to go in search of wells that are too deep and draw water from them. If they spend their time looking for water, they get to lose their means of livelihood.

Kempugudde area has over six wells that are either owned by the government or individuals. Depletion of underground water tabll has been the primary reason for scarcity of water. The zilla panchayat has undertaken construction of well, borewell, and tank construction, but none of these have been of any use for the locals because of water scarcity.

Recently power connection was provided to the borewell. The locals are hopeful that they might get water from this borewell in a few days.

Pachu, a local, who is aged, with a completely bent back, explains that it has been impossible for him to even walk around, and that youngsters are no more living in the area. "Under these circumstances, how can we get drinking water? We had brought our problems to the notice of people's representatives many a time," he explains.

A woman, Kusuma, says that the men go out for work in the morning and return at night. Therefore, the women at home face lot of problems. She feels that the residents might be able to get facilities if they sink differences on political lines and unite for a common cause.