The water scarcity crisis has worsened in Dakshina Kannada district and the temple authorities are bearing the maximum brunt.
Looking at the ongoing conditions, devotees have been asked to postpone their visits to the Manunatheshwara Temple in Dharmasthala. The Dakshina Kannada region is facing acute shortage of water.
The temple was established 800 years ago and is one of the most famous religious institutions. It is also one of the most revered Lord Shiva temples.
In the words of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, ‘We are facing the worst water crisis ever. The temple is the real sufferer. The condition is worsening day by day. The flow of Netravathi river has largely reduced.’
Relaising the gravity of the situation, he has asked all the devotees to postpone their visits by a couple of days.
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Karnataka’s Dakshina Kannada district generally receives over 4000 mm of rainfall. However, this year, situation has been different. Water scarcity has taken over several parts of this district.
Temple authorities further revealed that the water storage was only sufficient for a fortnight at Thumbe dam across Netravathi. The Mangaluru City Corporation has opted for water rationing. However, due to lack of summer showers, the problem is becoming more deadly.
Dharamsthala is visited by 10,000 devotees every year. Moreover, the temple serves free meals to its devotees every single day, thus needing huge amount of water every day. However, with temple authorities opting for water rationing now, the temple will no longer be able to serve its devotees atleast for some days.
‘The fresh flow of water has been stopped in all major rivers in the coastal belt including Netravathi, Phalguni, Swarna, Chakra, Varahi, Sharavathi, Aghanashini and Kali. Moreover, with depleting groundwater levels, which is at present 30-40 metres below ground level in Mangaluru, the situation is getting out of control’, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, further told.
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