Urban News

Source : The Hindu Date : 08.06.2009

Water shortage in Bijapur is artificial, say sources

Staff Correspondent

Bijapur: Drinking water is being supplied in Bijapur once a month. While officials of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) and the Bijapur City Municipal Council (CMC) hold each other responsible for the shortage, according to sources the shortage is artificial and created with a view to push the proposal to implement 24X7 water supply scheme to be taken up with the assistance from the Asian Development Bank.

According to official sources, the pilot project of the water supply scheme was successful in some parts of the State and now the Government proposes to implement the same in Bijapur. But in the past one year’s time people have opposed the scheme as it would mean that private players would be involved in implementation of the scheme and people would have to pay a larger sum of money for water.

The officials of the civic agencies are hand in glove with elected representatives when it comes to creating artificial shortage, said sources. The responsibility of pumping water to the city from Kolhar jack well lies with the KUWSDB and the CMC looks after distribution of water to all localities in the city. The CMC authorities allege that as enough water is not pumped from the Kolhar jack well, they are unable to ensure adequate supply.

The KUWSDB officials say that of the 28,000 drinking water connections in Bijapur, about 11,000 are illegal. The CMC has not initiated steps to solve the problem of illegal connections.

While the authorities of the civic agencies blame each other for the crisis, sources point out that the officials of both the departments are misleading people by saying that the storage in the Alamatti dam from where water is supplied to the city, is fast depleting. The water level in the Alamatti dam was 4.1 metres which means 18 tmc ft. of water. As per official sources, around one tmc ft. of water is enough for the city for the whole year. When such is the case, there is no truth when officials say that water level at the source is depleting.

Source : The Hindu Date : 08.06.2009

ZP meet discusses agriculture, water supply

Special Correspondent

GUNTUR: First-ever Zilla Parishad general body meeting after formation of new Government in the State on Sunday seriously discussed about drinking water pollution in Mangalagiri and several other small villages in the district and took to task the Rural Water Supply officials for not reacting to the several complaints from people.

The meeting chaired by ZP Chairperson Kuchipudi Vijaya and attended by Ministers Gade Venkata Reddy and Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao, was attended by all newly attended MLAs and MLCs in Guntur district with grand welcome accorded to all members by the Zilla Parishad.

General body meeting of the Zilla Parishad witnessed some heated debate over pollution emanating from a major hospital in Mangalagiri, which was allegedly polluting water. The Mangalagiri MPP and other people’s representatives brought a bottle of polluted water and demanded immediate action from the Zilla Parishad. Minister for Technical Education Mopidevi Venkata Ramana Rao took to task the RWS officials for lack of reaction and wanted them to resolve the issue at the earliest. “Will you react after another Bholakpur happens in Mangalagiri?" questioned the Minister.

The in-charge District Collector Kanti Lal Dande also promised a mandal-level survey of all drinking water sources and promised cleansing of all tanks and filter beds to provide clean drinking water to people.

Other major issues discussed at the meeting included agriculture and sand reach lease. Cutting across the political lines, all people’s representatives led by K.S. Lakshmana Rao demanded storing a buffer of fertilizer ahead of the forthcoming khariff season. The District Collector promised to store 55,000 mt of fertilizer as buffer and streamline the distribution.