Mangaluru : Water scarcity is being reported in Konaje since the last two months and there are already indications of shortage of water from Mannabettu in Mangaluru taluk, said officials at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner A.B. Ibrahim on Thursday to review the drought situation in Dakshina Kannada.

Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer P.I. Sreevidya and Mangaluru City Corporation Commissioner H.N. Gopalakrishna attended the meeting held at the office of the Deputy Commissioner.

The Executive Officer from Mangaluru Taluk panchayat said that water scarcity has been acute in some areas in Konaje since the last two months.

The local panchayat has arranged to supply water by tankers. Health Minister U.T. Khader held a meeting few weeks ago and sought Mangalore University to supply water from its overhead tank to areas reeling under water shortage. The university was yet to agree to this proposal, he said.

Questioning the Executive Officer for not bringing the situation in Konaje to his notice, Mr. Ibrahim objected to the unilateral decision of the panchayat to go ahead with supply of water by tankers. Additional Commissioner Kumar said that supply of water through tankers was a last resort.

Officials have to study the ground situation, estimate the requirement of water, explore alternative sources before supplying water through tankers. Mr. Ibrahim asked Assistant Commissioner D.R. Ashok to visit the affected areas and submit a detailed report.

Municipal Commissioner of Ullal City Municipal Council Roopa Shetty said that the reduced supply of water from the Mangaluru City Corporation was causing problems to residents.

As against the agreed 3.5 million litres of supply, the corporation was providing only 1.5 million litres of water.

Ms. Shetty said that this was only available for three hours a day. A corporation official said that the corporation cannot supply 3.5 million litres of water.

The official said that they are supplying 1.8 million litres of water per day.

Executive Office from Bantwal Taluk Panchayat said that there were indications of depletion of groundwater in areas such as Balepuni, Kurnadu and Pajir.