Samithi rejects temporary measures, demands permanent solution to Phalguni pollution

Taking a dig at the district administration for inserting large pipes along the coffer bund at Sultan Bathery to facilitate water flow in the Phalguni (Gurupura) River, the Nagarika Horata Samithi, Surathkal, on Thursday, February 12, called on the administration to strictly ascertain the reasons for the pollution and implement effective measures to address the same.

In a statement here, Samithi convener Muneer Katipalla said the administration appeared to be unprepared to investigate the real cause behind the water in Phalguni becoming toxic, leading to a stench and the death of aquatic life. Instead, it has stuck to the ‘unrealistic’ story that the coffer bund erected across the river for the construction of Sultan Bathery-Tannirbhavi Bridge was responsible for the water stagnation and increasing pollution levels. For this reason, the administration, through Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC), was inserting large pipes along the coffer bund to allow the flow of water during high and low tides.

If the administration’s analogy was true, why have waters in other reservoirs, even at Maravoor vented dam upstream the Kulur Bridge, not turned black and lost oxygen levels resulting in the death of aquatic life, Mr. Katipalla questioned. Why the situation arose only downstream Phalguni should be answered by the administration, he said.

Efforts should have been undertaken to identify the factors responsible for the deadly pollution in the river and to identify the industrial units that are illegally discharging industrial waste. In recent years, even though evidence has surfaced showing that units were illegally discharging industrial waste, no decisive action has been taken, he said.