The next academic year is set to commence on May 31 but schools in Karnataka’s Udupi district are grappling with a daunting predicament: severe water scarcity. Despite appeals from local representatives and educators, authorities have decided to proceed with the scheduled reopening, leaving schools struggling to ensure access to adequate drinking water and maintain proper hygiene.
Udupi MLA Yashpal Suvarna has appealed to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Principal Secretary of the Government to postpone the reopening of schools by one week due to the ongoing water scarcity. In a letter, he said, “There is inadequate water supply and it has been difficult to provide clean water to schools. Considering the seriousness of this issue, I request you to kindly review the date of commencement of school in the interest of the students and postpone it by one week,”
Local educators have voiced their apprehensions about the water scarcity issue. Dora Noronha, the Headmistress of Adi Udupi English Medium School, expressed concerns about managing over 300 students with the limited water supply received twice a week from the municipality. She said, “That is not sufficient for us. Even the water that we are receiving is not in good condition… it's reddish in colour. We used to rely on a local well but it has dried up because of summer.”
Sudharshan Nayak, the Headmaster of U Kamalabai High School, echoed similar sentiments. Explaining the challenges they face, he said, "We don’t know how to manage the situation as this is the first time we have faced this. We don’t have enough water for drinking, cleaning and cooking. There are 1,150 students and we need a minimum of 1000 litres of water per day for cooking, including washing the vessels. The water provided by the municipality is filled with mud, we had to get water filters repaired as mud was stuck to them."
While Udupi’s Deputy Director of the Public Education Department, Ganapathi K, acknowledged the need to ensure the availability of drinking water and maintain proper conditions in schools, he said that the decision to postpone the school opening lies with the government authorities.
Senior Journalist Rajaram Thallur said water scarcity is a long-standing issue in Udupi district. "Water scarcity has been a persistent problem for the past 10-15 years. Despite the pressing need, the required capacity has never been met. A proposal to bring water from Varahi was put forward, but now the completion of this project appears to be uncertain."
The Varahi water project initially involved drawing water from the Varahi River and purifying it at Baje dam but the Karnataka Legislative Council Petitions Committee had instructed officials to construct a treatment plant at Halady village to supply treated drinking water to 23 villages along the route.
Rajaram emphasised the need to extract water from major rivers surrounding Udupi as during high tide, seawater infiltrates coastal rivers. “Although water remains in the river, it becomes contaminated due to the intrusion of seawater," said Rajaram. A potential solution according to him would be to treat the contaminated water. "Instead of supplying non-potable water with an unpleasant odour, the municipality officials can explore methods to treat the water and make it usable."
TNM tried to reach out to Udupi Municipal Commissioner but did not receive any response. This story will be updated as and when we hear from them.