Vinobha K T/ENS

Mangalore, Feb 28: After a long gap of nearly two months, residents on the banks of Gurupur river near Sulthanbatteri in Mangalore have got a relief from their grievances.

The contractor who was undertaking reclamation work on Gurupur river bed had broken and blocked toilet pipes which drain out excreta and other waste of four houses while carrying out the work. Now, after the story was exposed in this website’s newspaper, the contractor has started laying pipes and reconstructing leach pits.

The contractor was carrying out reclamation work on Gurupur river bed under the guise of flood protection work. Due to this, four residents were forced to close their toilets since the outlet pipes of their toilets were broken and were depending on their neighbourers’ toilets these days.

The story regarding the illegal reclamation on the Gurupur river bed from Sulthanbatteri to Bokkapatna was exposed by this paper on February 16. Contracts were awarded to two contractors for undertaking 1,360 metres long `flood protection work ‘on the banks of Gurupur river from Sulthanbatteri to Bokkapatna in the city by the Minor Irrigation Department (MID).

But, a 25-feet wide road work was being laid by reclaiming Gurupur river, violating the CRZ notification. Contractor who already violated the CRZ notification had also put four local residents in trouble by blocking their toilet pipes.

Finally, as per MID Executive Engineer N T Rajgopal’s direction and local residents’ pressure, the contractor initiated the work of restoring pipelines. In the 1,360 metres stretch, many drainages were also clogged by the contractor while carrying out reclamation. The contractor also agreed to provide culvert for drainages.

It can be recalled that the Regional Director of Environment had served notice to the MID Executive Engineer seeking clarification regarding the violation of CRZ notification and asked him to restore the reclaimed river on February 18.