Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL), has shutdown phase-I unit due to water scarcity following closure of phase-II and III units last week. Presently, entire operations at Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals have come to a halt.
The company approached the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday seeking its intervention to release 2.5 mgd (million gallons a day) of water to the refinery from the River Nethravathi. To meet its requirement of water to the refinery, MRPL has constructed a weir across the Nethravathi at Sarapady village, upstream of Tumbe.
The refinery was receiving around 5.5 mgd from the Nethravathi. Water availability in the river and its downstream dams started depleting from March-end. As a result of this, Dakshina Kannada district administration enforced reduction of water supply to MRPL and it was completely stopped on April 11.
