Udupi: With Udupi district suffering from an acute shortage of water this summer, the district administration has taken various measures to desilt open wells and lakes in the district.
Udupi city was severely hit as the Suvarna River at Baje Dam- the main source of water for the city went dry. Alarmed by the problems, the officials have chalked out a plan to develop open wells and lakes and also recharge borewells in all urban local body limits in the district. As many as 18 public open wells in Udupi municipal limits have already been desilted till last week.
A list of open wells and 136 lakes in all the ULBs including Udupi City Municipality, the Town Municipalities of Kundapur, Kaup and Karkala and Saligrama Town Panchayat has been prepared and sent to the Urban Development (UD) department.
When Udupi faced a severe water crisis, the then District Urban Development Cell (DUDC) Project Director Santhosh Kumar, (who was transferred last week), took the initiative to prepare a list of open wells and lakes in Udupi district that need to be desilted so that they not only provide water in summer but also help in improving the water table.
The list of defunct borewells too have been prepared so that necessary steps can be taken to have rain water harvesting done around them and make them active borewells. The government has been requested to desilt and develop these water bodies under the Jalamrutha Scheme- the water conservation scheme launched by the state government recently.
Once the UD department gives the nod and provides the necessary funds, the local bodies will be able to desilt these water bodies and develop them.
