Date:17/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/05/17/stories/2004051700661300.htm

Back Call to ban commercial exploitation of water resources

Our Bureau

Mangalore , May 16

THE Vice-Chancellor of Mangalore University, Prof B. Hanumaiah, has said that commercial exploitation of water resources should be banned.

He was speaking at the inauguration of a seminar on "Water harvesting and pollution control", organised by the Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi Engineers' Association (KDKUEA) and Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Business Management, in Mangalore on Saturday.

He said that multinational companies and those who have access to abundant water sources are marketing water in a big way. People are forced to buy it due to lack of alternative water sources.

Regretting that governmental agencies have taken no action to prevent overexploitation of water, Prof Hanumaiah said that local community should come forward to protect water resources. People should adopt water-harvesting methods, he said.

Stressing the need for banning the practices of flooding the field with water and using groundwater for the cultivation of sugarcane and paddy, Prof Hanumaiah said that farmers should be educated about water conservation methods. Agricultural research should focus on evolving new strains that could assure maximum yields with least amount of water.

Stating that tanks have a major role to play in water conservation, he said that they have been neglected and their utility has been lost. Efforts should be made to remove silt from the tanks to make them functional.

Referring to the instances of storing water in big dams and transporting it through open canals, he said that nearly 50 per cent of water is wasted through evaporation and seepage in such cases. Steps should be taken to store water in underground reservoirs and transport it in pipes.

Dr S.N.N. Sharma, Senior Geologist, Department of Mines and Geology, Mangalore, who spoke on "Ground water resources", expressed concern over the tapping of static reserve of water table. Steps should be taken to manage water resource available as recharging static reserve of water table requires time, he added.

Fr. Faustine Lucas Lobo, Secretary of Canara Organisation for Development and Peace, Mangalore, said that there has been demand for more water due to population explosion. This has led to overexploitation of water sources, he said.

The KDKUEA President, Mr B. Guruprasad, presided over the function.