Severe Drinking Water Problem in Karnataka’s 236 Villages of 13 Districts
From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bangalore, May 6: As many as 236 villages in 13 districts of Karnataka have been facing severe drinking water problem, according to Karnataka’s Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar.
The government is trying its best to solve the drinking water problems of the affected villages by pressing into service 687 tankers on a daily basis, he said.
Addressing a news conference, the minister said villages of Bangalore Rural, Kolar, Chickballapur, Bijapur, Koppal, Belgaum, Raichur, Dakshina Kannada, Gulbarga, Mysore, Mandya, Uttara Kannada and Bangalore Urban districts have been facing drinking water problem.
He pointed out that many villages of Chincholi taluk in Gulbarga (81), Bijapur (56), Kumta taluk in Uttara Kannada (40) and Dakshina Kannada (34) districts have been facing severe water problems.
Tankers have been supplying water daily to village residents. A sum of Rs 19 crore had been released to Chief Executive Officers of different zilla panchayats. Rs 1 crore each had been released to Kolar and Chickballapur districts to tackle drinking water crisis, Shettar said.
The department has prepared an action plan focusing on recharge of ground water through construction of check dams, ponds, and rainwater harvesting.
The department has requested the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to conduct a survey on water sources in several parts of the State. The survey would help the department in
preparation of plans as well as implementation of drinking water schemes, he said.
The minister said the State had submitted a proposal seeking Rs 1400 crore in 2010-11 under the Prime Minister Grameen Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) forupgrading village roads to the extent of 4304 kms in the State. In the previous year, the State had utilised Rs. 850 crore under PMGSY.
Pointing out that he had met Union Rural Development Minister C P Joshi last week at Delhi and requested him to release the funds under PMGSY without any delay.
Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily too had written to the Prime Minister seeking release of funds to the State under PMGSY, Shettar added.