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Water Supply

‘Jala bhagya’: notices to be served for installation of water

Sunday, 14 June 2009 00:00 administrator
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Source : The Hindu Date : 14.06.2009

‘Jala bhagya’: notices to be served for installation of water

meters

Raviprasad Kamila

About 10,000 families have been availing the benefits of the scheme

Civic body is incurring a revenue loss of Rs. 2 lakh a month

MANGALORE: The Mangalore City Corporation will soon be issuing notices to all those who obtained water connections under the “jala bhagya” scheme to get water-meters installed for them, according to Mayor M. Shankar Bhat.

Mr. Bhat told The Hindu on Saturday that there were more than 10,000 water connections in the city under the “jala bhagya” scheme, which was meant for the poor families. Of them, about 4,000 connections did not have meters. This was causing a huge loss of revenue for the civic body, he said. Going by the Mayor’s statement and assuming that all the 4,000 water connections were to yield a minimum tariff of Rs. 50 a month each, the corporation has been incurring a revenue loss of Rs. 2 lakh a month.

Subodh Shetty, managing director, Prasanna Technologies, which has been awarded the contract to issue spot water bills in the city, told The Hindu that no bills were being issued to water connections which did not have meters.

The Mayor said that the consumers themselves had to fix the meters and the civic body was not responsible for that. The consumers, after installing the meters, should furnish the details to the corporation and obtain the sequence numbers from the corporation. People coming under the jala bhagya scheme were required to pay a minimum water tariff of Rs. 50 a month to the corporation. The minimum monthly tariff for other domestic users of water was Rs. 65, he added.

People desirous of enrolling their names for the scheme had to pay a deposit of Rs. 500 to the corporation as connection charges. For other domestic users, the deposit amount was Rs. 2,000, he said.

Mr. Bhat said that public taps would soon be removed from places where a large number of people availing the benefits of the scheme were residing. This would help the corporation in reducing the wastage of drinking water, he said. Mr. Bhat said that the “water adalats”, which had been suspended owing to the election code of conduct, had been re-started from Tuesday last. As many as 60 complaints related to water supply were addressed on the spot, even as 600 complaints were pending for disposal.

Last Updated on Monday, 15 June 2009 08:03
 

Rs. 614 crores to be spent on water supply

Saturday, 13 June 2009 15:34 administrator
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Source : The Hindu Date : 13.06.2009

Rs. 614 crores to be spent on water supply

Staff Reporter

BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government on Friday admitted that people faced drinking water problem in towns like Berhampur, Khurda, Bhawanipatna, Bargarh and Talcher during the summer season.

Replying to a query, Minister of State for Urban Development Badri Narayan Patra said Rs. 614.44 crores would be spent on drinking water supply in at least 24 towns under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Focusing on drinking water problem prevailing in Berhampur, Mr. Patra said at present the city had a population of 3,60,000 and 35 million litre of drinking water was being supplied to different colonies.

“A project envisaging an expenditure of Rs. 527.95 lakhs has already got Union government’s nod. Upon completion, a 20 million litre capacity water treatment plant would be constructed at Dakshinapur reservoir. Work on the project would commence once tenders will be finalised,” the Minister said.

In the second phase, Rs. 32 crores was planned to be spent on laying pipelines in Berhampur city under UIDSSMT programme, he said.

Mr. Patra said new areas of the city would be covered under piped drinking water supply and outdated supply pipes in old areas would be replaced with new pipelines for which a detailed project report was being prepared.

For permanent solution to drinking water problem, a feasibility report had been finalised, he said.

Last Updated on Saturday, 13 June 2009 15:38
 

State’s water reserves alarming

Monday, 08 June 2009 14:36 administrator
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Source : Deccan Chronicle Date : 08.06.2009

State’s water reserves alarming

June 8th, 2009
By Our Correspondent

Bengaluru, June 7: Karnataka entered its current water year on June 1 and the situation looks grim. And if the rain gods are not generous enough, the state will have to be prepared to face not just an irrigation crisis but also a critical power situation and an acute shortage of drinking water.

Whatever the situation may be, the state will have to continue its supply of 205 TMC water to Tamil Nadu like every year. But with the water level in reservoirs at a new low, only bountiful rains in the next few weeks can ensure good irrigation apart from ensuring supply of drinking water to major cities.

Water levels in all reservoirs put together measure up to 131.68 TMC water (as on June 4, 2009), as against last year’s corresponding level —188.31 TMC — resulting in a shortage of 57 TMC. It may be too early to conclude that the situation is grim but the state after having endured three continuous drought years in early 2000, still isn’t prepared enough to face a water crisis. Last year, this resulted in the government shelling out crores of rupees to purchase power after the monsoon failed. If there is a repeat this year, Karnataka will also have to deal with angry farmers. Not to mention the crisis arising from the drinking water shortage in Bengaluru, Ramanagara, Bidadi, and Kanakapura.

June, July, August and September are crucial for Karnataka as it is the kharif season. And if reservoirs are not full by July, the BJP government would probably be facing the worst crisis of its tenure. Right now, KRS, the major reservoir has a serious shortage with just 7.5 TMC as against 22.7 TMC that was stored last year.

According to officials in the Water Resources Development Organisation (WRDO), the reservoirs were filled to the brim in 2008-09 because of the heavy rains in 2007. “If the rains do not come to our aid, then it will be very difficult to convince farmers on the shortage,” added an official.

After crying foul over the Cauvery water sharing verdict, Karnataka approached the Supreme Court and got the final order stayed. Although the hearing is in November, the situation doesn’t look positive for Karnataka because the higher bench that was to be formed for the hearing hasn’t yet been formed.

The Met department has indicated near normal rains this year.

Last Updated on Monday, 08 June 2009 14:48
 
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