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Stop pumping treated water to Kolar: Karnataka High Court to government

Residents allege dirty water from B'luru dirtying ground sources.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government to stop pumping of treated water to Kolar and Chikkaballapur districts from K&C valley project till the next date of hearing.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice R Devdas passed an interim order ordering the state government to stall the pumping of treated water.

The court passed the restraining order while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), alleging that the project was affecting the locals since the ground water was also getting polluted in the course.

The BWSSB stopped the pumping of water on July 13 when frothing was witnessed in Kolar, but was to restart pumping after flushing the pipes.

Deepanjali, member, Voice of Sarjapura, welcomed the development. "This is great news and I hope the new government will rethink about the decision to pump the water of Varthur and Bellandur Lakes to Anekal where the farmers are using it for irrigation," she added.

She further said the government should take cognizance of the suggestions provided by the scientific community and experts who are working on the treatment of water. "It should ensure that not a drop of raw sewage gets into the lake and the city being an entrepreneurial capital should look around and work on the solutions given by them," she pointed out.

The project was aimed at providing treated water to arid parts of Chikkaballapur and Kolar districts. However, after the local residents of Kolar came across froth in the stream, the state government stopped pumping.

Irrigation minister to visit Kolar
Minor and Medium Irrigation Minister C.S. Puttaraju has said that he would be visiting the area on Wednesday and submit a report to the Chief Minister, after which a decision would be taken.

Regarding last week's frothing, Puttaraju said the incident took place due to heavy rain on that day.

The treated water got mixed with untreated water for over 10 minutes, creating froth in tanks at Kolar.

The problem was immediately noticed and later release of water was stopped.

Of the two pumps, one was under maintenance. Besides, due to excess flow, the tank bunds have been breached. Now, the repair works are underway and even the Karnataka High Court has made the similar observation, Mr Puttaraju said.

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to complete the canal works of Yagachi and Hemavathi in Hassan district and start releasing water in the canals by July 31, he added.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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