Mangaluru : More than a year after a 160-km long underground sewer network in Jeppinamogaru and Surathkal is ready, the Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has now decided to allow people to provide house connection.

According to H.N. Gopalakrishna, commissioner of the corporation, people will be allowed to link their houses’ sewer lines to the manholes in the network within two months in phases.

Of the 160-km network, 65-km sewer line from Shivabagh, Maroli, Tarethota, Pumpwell, Yekkur, Jeppinamogaru, Bajal and surrounding areas was connected to the sewage treatment plant (STP) at Jeppinamogaru with a processing capacity of 20 million litres a day (MLD).

Another 90-km long underground pipelines from Hosabettu, Kulai, Katipalla and Surathkal were connected to the 16.5 MLD capacity STP at Surathkal.

Deepak K. Poojary, chairman, Standing Committee for Town Planning and Improvement, said that people in Shivbagh would be allowed to provide house connection. Later, it would be allowed in other areas like Maroli, Tarethota and remaining places where the network are connected to the STP at Jeppinamogaru.

He said that 10 members was now checking the network in phases before allowing the house connections.

Mr. Poojary said that now the electricity connection to the STP at Surathkal was under trial. People in its surroundings would also be allowed to provide house connection within two months.

Referring to missing pipeline links in the network in some places he said that they would be addressed simultaneously.

The first priority was to allow people in areas where no missing links have been found to allow house connection, he said.

A recent survey by MCC officials had found some loose ends in the sewer project implemented by Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) for the MCC. It found missing links of main sewer lines at 25 places. In addition, there were issues relating to laying connecting roads, railway and constructing retaining walls and repair of manholes.

The missing links was due to issues relating to availability of land, court issues and rock formation in the sites coming in the way of linking pipelines.