Mangaluru: Facing an acute shortage of water, Mangaluru has turned to the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Limited (KIOCL) for help, requesting it to provide the water it draws from the Lakya dam to the city and help it meet the people’s drinking water requirements.
The KIOCL plant at Panambur draws about two million gallons of water per day from the dam located near the Kudremukh mining area in Chikmagalur district. The proposal to divert some of the water to the city has been pending for about three years, but now the Mangaluru City Corporation(MCC) has begun to focus on it considering the severe water crisis in the city. Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner, A B Ibrahim too has directed the KIOCL to come to its rescue .
Mayor Harinath, who visited the Lakya dam on Monday, said KIOCL had been asked to give all the water it draws from it to the city as it did not need it at present. “This is not a busy time for the company and so we have asked it to give us all the water,” Mr Harinath said.
But this is a temporary arrangement as the MCC has decided to request the Supreme Court to allow it to draw five million gallons a day of water from the Lakya dam permanently. With the Supreme Court banning all extraneous activity in the Kudremukh National Park where the dam is located, its permission is a must, the mayor explains . “We plan to request the court to allow us to draw water from the dam at the earliest,” he added.
