MANGALURU: The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) announced on Wednesday evening that repairs to the damaged main water pipeline connecting the Thumbe pumping station to the city have been completed, and regular water supply will resume from Thursday. A major snag in the 1,100 mm diameter pipeline had disrupted water flow for three consecutive days, leaving thousands of households in central and southern parts of the city without supply.
Three-day disruption leaves residents struggling
The unexpected pipeline damage had affected several areas, including Mangaladevi, Shaktinagar, Bendore, Pandeshwar and Jeppu. Residents reported severe difficulty managing daily needs, with many forced to depend on private water tankers to get through the crisis.
Localities with higher elevation suffered the most, as water pressure was already compromised due to load-shedding. Residents said it felt like a “summer-time crisis” despite November typically being a stable month for water availability.
Repair work completed after prolonged delay
According to the MCC commissioner, emergency repair work on the Thumbe (80 MLD) supply line was taken up immediately after the fault was detected. The work extended into Wednesday evening, after which officials confirmed that the city’s water supply system had stabilised enough to resume distribution from Thursday morning.
However, the delay drew criticism from elected representatives. MLAs Vedavyas Kamath and Bharath Shetty visited the repair site and questioned the corporation officials. They alleged that a task that could have been completed within a single day was stretched to three days due to official negligence, resulting in massive inconvenience to lakhs of residents.
They also expressed dissatisfaction with the failure to arrange adequate tanker supply despite the severity of the shortage. The MLAs noted that power cuts had further reduced pumping efficiency, adding to the struggle for many neighbourhoods awaiting water.
MCC assures normal supply from Thursday
City Corporation authorities stated that, with repairs now complete, households across affected wards should expect normal water flow by Thursday morning. Engineers have been instructed to monitor pressure levels and ensure that restoration happens smoothly without further interruptions.
The MCC also appealed to the public to use water judiciously in the initial hours of restoration, as pipeline refilling could temporarily affect pressure consistency across zones.
A reminder of the need for infrastructure vigilance
The episode has renewed concerns about the ageing water infrastructure in Mangaluru, particularly the pipelines transporting water from Thumbe to the city. Residents and civic activists have once again emphasised the need for regular maintenance checks and quicker response mechanisms to prevent widespread disruption.
While normalcy is expected today, the three-day outage has highlighted gaps in emergency preparedness—an issue the civic body is likely to face continued scrutiny over.