Udupi (The Hindu): Udupi CMC resorts to this measure as water level in dam recedes. Water is being taken with the help of three pumps from a pit in the Swarna river-bed from here to the Baje Dam in order to provide drinking water to Udupi.

Drinking water to the city is supplied from the Baje Dam at Swarna River at Baje village about 20 km from Udupi. But the water level at the Baje dam is fast decreasing and stood at 2.08 metres on Saturday.

Hence the Udupi City Municipal Council (CMC) took the decision of pumping water from a pit in the river-bed of Swarna here with the help of three pumps of 110 hp each mounted on three boats. About 25 million litres of water per day is being pumped since Friday. This would be enough to meet water requirements for four days. The cost of pumping is Rs. 980 per hour per pump. Bhandarbettu is about six kilometers upstream from Baje dam.

This pumped water flows and joins another pit near Puttige Bridge, where three boat-mounted pumps have been stationed. Those three pumps will pump it further to another pit near Puttige Mutt, from where it will be pumped after a few days to the Baje dam. Since the water pump at lifting station at Baje is of 200 hp, the water supplied from these three pits would enough for lifting. Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, who visited the pumping spot at Bhandarbettu, said that the water in the pit here was enough to meet requirements of the city for four days. This along with the water in other two pits was enough to meet the water requirements of the city till June 1. “By then we expect rains in the catchment area and it will solve the water problem,” he said.

The 35 municipal wards in the city had been divided into two groups of 17 and 18 wards each. Presently water is being supplied to each one of these groups of the wards in the city on alternate days. “Given the water availability in these pits, we will keep supplying water to the city on alternate days. Along with the city, we are continuing to supply water to the neighbouring seven Gram Panchayats,” Mr. Madhwaraj said.