Mangaluru : Minister for Forests, Environment, Ecology and in-charge of Dakshina Kannada B Ramanath Rai said here on Monday that the government has ordered survey of land which will be submerged by storing water in the new vented dam being built across the Netravathi at Thumbe.

Addressing media, he said that the new dam was in the final stages of completion. “As much as 95 per cent of the works have been completed,” the Minister said.

Mayor Harinath said that the survey would find out how much land would be submerged if water was stored up to seven metres. The maximum height of the dam was 12 metres.

The Minister refuted the recent allegations by J. Krishna Palemar, former district in-charge Minister, that there was delay in installing water arresting gates at the existing vented dam, and hence, the city was facing water scarcity. Mr. Palemar had said that the gates were fixed during January-February 2016 instead of November-December 2015.

Mr. Rai said that the gates had been fixed on December 26, 2015. In 2014, the gates had been installed on November 30.

The Minister reiterated that water scarcity in the city and the district in general was because of poor rainfall during 2015. Rainfall fell by 21 per cent last year, he said.

The Mayor said that six water tankers provided by the Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Union Ltd. to Mangaluru City Corporation was lifting water from the storage at MRPL and transporting it to the city since two days.