No foreseeable signs of water scarcity in Dakshina Kannada this summer: Karnataka minister

MANGALURU: There are no foreseeable signs of water scarcity in the upcoming summer across Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The district administration in conjunction with panchayati raj department has already taken stock of situation at a review meeting recently and will periodically keep reviewing the water situation based on which future decisions will be taken, said minister for fisheries and religious endowment Kota Shrinivas Poojari.
Interacting with media on Sunday, Poojari, also district minister, said there is steady inflow of water into Thumbe vented dam, the main source of potable water for this coastal city. The administration is maintaining water at a level of six metres at the dam and excess water is being allowed to overflow the vented dam, he said. The survey to determine the land that will be submerged if water level is raised to 7 metres too is underway, he said.
Deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said, state chief secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, who visited the vented dam recently, too has suggested that the administration and Mangaluru City Corporation maintain the water level at its present height of six metres. As things stand now, we do not foresee any immediate water scarcity even as summer is approaching, she said, basing this optimistic assessment on continuing inflow into the vented dam.
Noting that administration is carrying out survey to determine extent of land that will be submerged if the water level is raised by an additional metre, Sindhu said another road barrage-cum-vented dam that the minor irrigation department is constructing at Adyar down stream from the Thumbe vented dam will further augment water availability. This barrage is expected to be ready in the coming two-years and tenders for it has been finalised, she said.