Water to Panhala stopped after river contamination

Kolhapur: The Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) has decided to stop water supply to Panhala hill station for eight days because of pollution in Kasari river.
Residents of Panhala have been directed not to use the pipeline water for drinking purpose until further notice.
MJP supplies water to Panhala from Kasari river using lift irrigation. The water is stored at Kapur well from there is is supplied to the town of 5,000.Since last week, locals are complaining of foul odour coming from the water.
D K Patil, town engineer of MJP and his team inspected the water supplied to the residential areas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The water was yellowish in colour and foul odour was emanating from it. "We have collected samples for further tests. The water is not potable. We have asked the civic body not to provide drinking water unless it's cleaned," Patil said.
Locals have alleged that a sugar factory in Asurle Pore is responsible for the water contamination. Similar complaints were raised in December last year, after which the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had collected water samples; however, the results of the samples are still not known.
The Panhala hill station municipal council has arranged for tankers to provide drinking water to the residents round-the-clock. Moreover, there are over 10 wells in the town.
An official of MPCB said that they have kept a strict watch on the water released from the sugar factory. "Last year, we had closed the factory for 15 days. Of the three lagoons in the factory to store polluted water, two were leaked. We will inspect what has happened this time," said an official.
The factory is situated on the banks of Kasari river and the jackwell lifting water for Panhala is located nearby. The residents have complained that every year during sugarcane crushing, they are forced to use polluted water.
Dinkar Chougule, local nature-lover had filed several complaints to the MJP and MPCB to take action against the factory.
Panhala is one of the major tourist destinations in southern Maharashtra. The fort is situated at 18-km north-west of Kolhapur city. Panhala uplands are 2,772 feet above the sea and about 1,300 feet above the Kolhapur plain. The entire fort is about 7.5 in circumference.