Mangaluru City South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath on Saturday urged authorities to immediately release water from the AMR Dam to the Thumbe vented dam, citing a sharp drop in water levels that he said had led to an artificial scarcity in the city.
After visiting the Thumbe dam site, Kamath said the water level had fallen to just 4 metres. He alleged that despite the city being represented by two MLAs, the district administration and the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) had taken a unilateral decision on water rationing without consulting them.
Kamath said the AMR Dam, meant for emergency use, currently has sufficient water and can be diverted to Thumbe to raise the level up to 6 metres and ensure an uninterrupted daily water supply. "When the BJP-led previous council successfully managed such situations, why create panic among the public now?" he said, demanding that water be released immediately.
Former mayors Premanand Shetty and Sudhir Shetty Kannur said there was no real water shortage and blamed the situation on inexperience in administration. They said authorities should curb non-essential use instead of restricting the drinking water supply. They also referred to complaints from several parts of the city about the lack of water supply and called for measures to ensure 24-hour water availability to all households.
Several BJP functionaries, former corporators and senior MCC officials were present during the visit.
