Mangaluru: Lifting water from Netravati for non-drinking purposes banned

April 28, 2016

Mangaluru, Apr 28: The water scarcity in the region has forced the Dakshina Kannada district administration to ban lifting of water from Netravati river except for drinking purpose.

Deputy Commissioner AB Ibrahim issued a fresh order banning lifting water from the river between Thumbe vented dam and AMR Power Pvt. Ltd.'s vented dam at Shambhoor for irrigation, construction and other non-drinking purposes.

“Bantwal Town Municipal Council and gram panchayats of the areas between the two dams could lift water for drinking only. Others should not lift water from the river for any other purpose, including for farming and industrial,” the DC ordered. The order would be in force at least for a week.

The order also banned lifting water from the AMR Power Project's dam at Shambhoor for any industrial purpose. It applied to Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd. and other industries.

The order has been issued because water storage at Thumbe dam, which supplies drinking water to the city, has depleted.

It said that the Commissioner of Mangaluru City Corporation should get the help of the police to implement the order in case if there was any requirement.

It said that the groundwater level in district as a whole has decreased considerably due to shortage in rainfall and now the severe summer. Many borewells and open wells have dried up.

It has resulted in water scarcity, particularly for drinking. Water was being supplied through tankers in some rural and urban areas. Scarcity of drinking water is severe in the jurisdiction of Ullal City Municipal Council, Mulki Town Panchayat and Haleyangady.

Mr. Ibrahim said that about five lakh people lived in the jurisdiction of the corporation and one lakh people lived in the jurisdiction of Ullal and Mulki. All of them get water from the Thumbe. Now, the inflow at the Thumbe dam has completely stopped.

The order said that water from the AMR Power Project's dam has been released to the Thumbe dam, which is in the downstream, only for seven days, that is from March 29 to March 31, April 11 to April 13 and on April 20. Now, the priority would be to supply water for drinking purpose, otherwise the scarcity situation would only aggravate.

Comments

Also stop supplying water to MRPL too.....and other industries which consumes huge amount of water...

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Air India Express brings back Mangaluru–Muscat direct flights from March 2026

News Network

December 15,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 15: Air India Express has announced that it will resume direct flight services between Mangaluru and Muscat from March 2026, restoring an important international air link for passengers from the coastal region.

Airport authorities said the service will operate twice a week—on Sundays and Tuesdays—from March 1. The initial flights are scheduled on March 3, 8 and 10, followed by March 15 and 17, with the same operating pattern to continue thereafter. The flight duration is approximately three hours and 25 minutes.

The Mangaluru–Muscat route was earlier operated under the 2025 summer schedule, with services beginning on July 14. At that time, Air India Express had operated four flights a week before suspending the service.

Officials said the summer schedule will come into effect from March 29, after which changes in flight timings and departure schedules from Mangaluru are expected. Passengers have been advised to check the latest schedules while planning their travel.

The resumption of direct flights to Muscat is expected to significantly benefit expatriates, business travellers and others, further strengthening Mangaluru’s air connectivity with the Gulf region.

Comments