Bengaluru: State has enough water, government to set up 24/7 control room
Bengaluru: Chief Secretary C.S. Vijaybhaskar has said that there will be no dearth for drinking water till June and the government will ensure sufficient supply of water to entire state till the end of summer.
After a review meeting with district administration on Tuesday, Mr Vijaybhaskar told reporters that Chief Minister could not participate in the review meetings as election code of conduct was in force and he was holding meetings every fortnight.
The government has decided to set up a 24X7 control room for supplying drinking water during summer. The government was ensuring minimum 55-85 litres of water per person per day and water was being supplied to 60,248 villages.
Water was being supplied from dams, reservoirs, hand pumps and borewells. Out of 16,000 RO units to provide drinking water, about 530 were under repair and it will be completed soon, he said.
Allaying fears of water shortage, Mr Vijaybhaskar said that there was sufficient amount of water in dams to cater to the needs of summer.
In KRS, water storage was above 90 foot and even in other dams; there was good water storage to cater to the needs of the state till June end.
The monsoon is expected to set by June and next two months, water flow from these reservoirs would be maintained as usual, he said.
In other areas, where water is not supplied through dams, the district administration has been advised to repair and de-silt borewells. Barring Kolar area, where borewells are not yielding water, the district administration has allowed to dig new borewells wherever it is necessary.
Around 1,711 tanker lorries are being used to supply drinking water to 1,141 habitation and the tankers are making 5,270 trips every day.
In 26 districts, 1,205 villages are supplied drinking water through 1,893 tankers, he said.
In the wake of drought in 162 taluks, Rs 1.5 crore allocations had been released to over 100 taluks. For rest 62 taluks, Rs 75 lakh each has been released, while 14 taluks, which are not drought hit, have been allotted with Rs 35 lakh each.
The state has fodder stock that can cater to the needs of the state for next four weeks. They are stored in 128 fodder banks, he said.
He, however, regretted that the Centre was yet to release Rs 1,640 crore, which was pending with respect to MGNREGA and would be soon writing to them.
As vigorous monsoon has been forecast for Malnad regions of Kodagu, Hassan and Chickmagalur districts, the government has constituted a senior officers’ committee to take precautions.
Two teams of NDRF have been appointed to oversee Kodagu and Dakshina Kannada districts and Rs 682 crore has been released for natural disaster works, he added.
