Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 25: The state high court (HC) has directed Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to initiate action against Mangaluru City Corporation that has remained insensitive to the issue of supplying contaminated drinking water to Mangaluru city.

A KSPCB report that was submitted earlier had mentioned about the water of a tributary of river Falguni having been contaminated.

The public interest litigation filed by Karnataka State Legal Services Authority came up for hearing before the divisional bench of the HC on Friday September 24.

The bench, expressing resentment, said that the court cannot remain a mute spectator to the situation in which the Mangaluru city residents are forced to consume contaiminated water because of a garbage dump that has been in operation since long.

The advocate appearing on behalf of the government said that the garbage pile is about 30 to 40 years old and it will be cleared in phases. A private firm submitted a test report about the quality of water at the Malavoor water purification unit, but the bench rejected the report. The bench said that it fails to understand under which law the task of analysing the quality of water was entrusted to the firm.

The bench expressed dissatisfaction about the way the issue is being handled by Mangalore City Corpooraiton and ordered for initiating legal measures against the erring officials. It has ordered both KSPCB and city corporation to file monthly reports on the progress in solid waste disposal, before adjourning the hearing to October 27.

The bench also ordered the KSPCB to test the quality of water at the entry point of the vented dam and also at the exit.