The issue was thoroughly discussed during a day-long meeting held at the MCC council hall here on Wednesday, which was attended by KUIDFC Managing Director Aravind Srivastav and Deputy Commissioner V Ponnuraj.
Srivastav said the 24x7 water supply plan could be implemented in Mangalore on the lines of KUIDFC’s pilot project in Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga. “About 1,25,000 people of select parts of these cities are successfully getting 24x7 water since 2008. In two years, it has been proved that good results can be obtained in a contract system provided the civic body takes good initiative,” he said.
Making a presentation on the plan, CRISIL Infrastructure Advisory representative Rakesh Bangera said the proposed project may require about Rs 75 crore for its implementation.
“The staff strength in the water supply system need to be increased to 510 from the present 120. Under PPP model, the water tariff need to be increased by 10 per cent once in every 5 years. In this plan, by 2030, the minimum water tariff will be Rs 100 as against the existing Rs 65,” he explained.
However, councillors Harish Surathkal and Mariamma Thomas noted that the study has not made any reference to the sources of water on which the 24x7 system can rely. They also asked for alternatives during power failures.
DC V Ponnuraj said the new vented dam and the existing dam at Thumbe (that will be raised to 7 mts) will compensate the water requirements. At the same time, it has been agreed by the Shambhur AMR project that it will store water only during good flow of water.
Both Srivastav and Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environment Management Project (KUDCEMP) Superintending Engineer (Water Supply) Syed Ilias Pasha felt that about 40 per cent of water is being wasted in the MCC limits due to leakages. “If we can prevent leakages completely, sufficient water can be supplied to about 9 lakh people with the existing resources,” Pasha said.
Srivastav said the proportion of leakage is only 7 per cent in the three cities where 24x7 system has been implemented. Replying to the question on the problem of electricity in enforcing the scheme, he said water will be supplied through gravitational force by dividing the corporation area into hydraulic zones.
Mayor M Shanker Bhat, MLA N Yogish Bhat, Deputy Mayor Rajani Dugganna, Commissioner K N Vijayprakash and KUDCEMP Project Director J R Lobo were present.