MANGALURU
In a bid to avoid water rationing, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has started pumping water from the backwater of Harekala barrage, which has not yet been commissioned.
Water available in the backwater of Harekala barrage will be pumped and filled in the MCC’s dam at Thumbe, on the upstream.
Official sources said that the inflow of water into Thumbe dam had stopped from the first week of March. The backwaters on the upstream side of Harekala barrage stretches up to the downstream of Thumbe dam. Hence, the city corporation has planned to pump the water from the backwater of Harekala barrage. We have plans to use six pumps to lift water and shift it to Thumbe dam. Pumps will be placed on floating platforms created by using boats. The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) and Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF) have arranged the pumps, sources said.
Pumping of water started with two pumps and four more will be added soon. The fabrication work for the installation of four more pumps is in progress, sources added.
The District administration has already ordered industries to stop lifting water from the AMR dam, which is located on the upstream of Thumbe dam. The water level at Thumbe dam has reduced from 5.95 metres on March 3 to 5.5 metres on April 14. The water level at Thumbe dam has been depleting fast due to lack of rain in the catchment areas and high rate of evaporation due to heat.
The MCC is also planning to release water from the AMR dam to Thumbe dam and in the meantime, water rationing also may be introduced if the catchment areas do not receive rain soon.
