Provide meter based water supply to avoid misuse of water'

Mangalore, May 8: Panchayats must make sure that water supply is monitored to houses via cent per cent meter system said A G Kodgi, Chairman, Third Finance Commission Report.

Chairing a Task Force meet at Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, Mr. Kodgi demanded an explanation from the officials of the concerned department regarding meter system being followed in the district. On being told that water is supplied to most houses without meter monitoring, he expressed discontentment and asked Shailaja Bhat, President, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat and Dr. K N Vijay Prakash, CEO, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, to convene a meeting at the earliest and direct all Gram Panchayats to adopt meter based water supply to houses.

“There is no water scarcity in Dakshina Kannada district. It is just that water is being misused. By bringing some houses under the meter rule and leaving out others, you are giving scope for misuse of water. There are people who use water for their farms and are not being held accountable since there is no meter and the rest of the village is left without water at the end of the day”, he observed.

Mr. Kodgi also asked officials to ascertain as to how many houses in the different villages have wells and how many are self-sufficient in water. “You must first make a list of how many houses actually need Panchayat water. You also do not have an idea as to how many MLDs a Taluk requires”, Mr. Kodgi pointed out to an official.

He also said on the occasion that there is enough surface water in the district which should be utilized. “Tanker supply and borewells are meaningless systems. They are ways to loot the state treasury. More the number of borewells, the more ground water level will go down”, he said.

A common lapse, Mr. Kodgi said, in the panchayats of various districts that he visited, was the inaccurate information being given to his team.

Dr. K N Vijay Prakash, CEO, Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, brought to the notice of Mr. Kodgi that a proposal to provide water to 216 villages under the multi village scheme had been submitted to the government.

Comments

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