M Raghuram for The Hindu

Mangalore likely to face water shortage 

• Work on the dam can be started after the inflow decreases
• It is the only source of drinking water for five lakh people

Mangalore, Dec 20: Thumbay vented dam, the only source of drinking water for five lakh people in the city, has developed cracks.

The loss of water due to leakage will be more this season if immediate steps are not taken to fix the cracks and upgrade the water supply system.

The Engineering division officials of Mangalore City Corporation said that the dam was overflowing and the quantum of water being lost could not be ascertained.

The cracks could not be plugged until the inflow into the dam is decreased, they said.

The inflow into the dam was heavy this year because of good monsoons, they said. The dam has 760 windows, which would be closed once the inflow is stabilised. A jack well for the new pumping system is being dug by Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation within the reservoir area.

Over 100 windows have been kept open to facilitate the free flow of mud and silt, they said.

Sources in the division said that the dam was old and had developed cracks over the years.

The sources said that they were planning to construct a "coffer dam" with the help of sand bags and mortar to fix the leakage. But that could be done only after the water was fully impounded within the reservoir, they added.

Meanwhile, the there is an increase in the number of people opting for water being supplied from the Thumbay water supply system.

Statistics available with the corporation indicate that the system was built for a population of 2.75 lakh.

The initial number of water connections was 10,000, but that number has now gone up to 68,000. However, the system has not been upgraded for the last 24 years.