Dip in Cauvery river water affects villages

Madikeri: Due to the heat wave, water flow in Cauvery River has come down. The authorities in Somwarpet, who are finding it difficult to supply drinking water, have placed sandbags across the river in Hebbale to redirect the water to the pumping unit.The water pumped from Hebbale is supplied to a purification unit near Hebbale gram panchayat. After purification, the water was being supplied from Hebbale in Kushalnagar taluk to 16 villages under the jurisdiction of 7 GPs, including Shirangala on the border of Kodagu and Kudige, Kudumangalur, Thorenur, Hebbale, Shirangala, Mullusoge. Now, due to the fact that the water level in the river has decreased significantly, the staff are busy placing sandbags in the river and making it flow towards the pumping unit.Meanwhile, the work on a 66 kV capacity power substation at Siddapur is under way, and is expected to be completed by Sept next year, addressing long-pending electricity issues in the region. At present, the Siddapur station supplies power to villages like Nellihudikeri, Guhya, Maldare, Injilagere, Pallakere, Chennayyankote, Yadur, Pollibetta, Chennangi and Siddapur, with supply routed from 33 kV units at Ponnampet, Suntikoppa and Virajpet Central. Because of this dependence, disruptions or major maintenance work in the Virajpet area often lead to power cuts in Siddapur and surrounding villages. With the commissioning of the new 66 kV substation, continuous and more reliable power supply is expected for villages within about a 10km radius, CESC assistant executive engineer Nagesh said.