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Water woes dominate Corporation Council meeting

Friday, 10 May 2013 11:37 administrator
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The New Indian Express                 10.05.2013

Water woes dominate Corporation Council meeting

Mayor Tony Chammany said the council had observed that there is serious apathy on the part of the KWA in completing the repair works of the existing pipelines. |AP
Mayor Tony Chammany said the council had observed that there is serious apathy on the part of the KWA in completing the repair works of the existing pipelines. |AP

The issues related to supply of potable water and the apathy of the Kerala Water Authority in repairing the pipelines dominated the discussions at the Kochi Corporation Council meeting held here on Thursday.

In his reply, Mayor Tony Chammany said the council had observed that there is serious apathy on the part of the KWA in completing the repair works of the existing pipelines. “We will convey the protest of the council in this regard to KWA officials,” Chammany said.

He said though the delay in repairing the pipelines had resulted in the disruption of water supply, the shortage of water is a grave issue in itself.

“The basic problem is that we are not getting adequate volume of water and there is a huge gap between the demand and supply. Kochi needs a minimum 400 million litres of water a day, while the supply is only 230 mld. We are pinning our hopes on the water supply projects that are in various stages of implementation,” Chammany said.

The Mayor said separate review meetings will be convened by the respective division councillors to discuss the status of potable water projects under the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP). Earlier, initiating the discussions, Opposition councillor M Anilkumar alleged that the lackadaisical attitude of the KWA had resulted in the non-completion of various projects mooted in the past. “We suspect that a section of KWA officials are hand-in-glove with the water mafia to privatise the water supply sector,” Anilkumar added.

A majority of the councillors who took part in the discussions said that several agencies, including the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation  (DMRC) and Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL)  are bypassing the Corporation in taking some key decisions.

Citing the Edappally flyover as the latest example, Opposition Councillor M Sunilkumar said that the Mayor should not allow the move by the agencies to prevent the elected council from overseeing the execution of infrastructure projects in the city.

Earlier, the statement made by councillor Celine Peter that her letter pad was forged by a person to change the name of Pallichal Road to V S Krishna Bhagavathar Road also invited strong protest from the Opposition.

The Mayor also said that the decision to terminate 31 attenders from the Homoeo clinics under the Corporation will also be reconsidered.

 

BBMP hopes new government will bail it out

Friday, 10 May 2013 11:29 administrator
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The New Indian Express                 10.05.2013

BBMP hopes new government will bail it out

The cash-strapped Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) hopes to get financial support from the new government to take up pending development work in the city.

For three years in a row since its jurisdiction  was expanded, the BBMP has been presenting a budget of around Rs 9,000 crore but has been able to generate only up to 30 per cent of the targeted revenue.

Last year, the civic body had expected Rs 1,300-Rs 1500 crore special grants from the government. However, it did not receive the funds.

In 2010-11, BBMP expected Rs 1,300 crore, but received only Rs 300 crore and, in 2011-12, it expected Rs 1,500 crore, but the government provided only Rs 750 crore.

However, last year, the grants were decreased to Rs 751 crore and BBMP received around `300 crore.

On the expectations from the new government, BBMP commissioner Siddaiah said it should release funds for the projects that were announced in last year’s budget. He said many projects,  approved by BBMP council and sent to the government for approval, get delayed.

Ruling party leader in the BBMP council, N Nagaraju, said his party has implemented many development works. “We need more grants from the state government to take up many pending works. We also need more funds which have to be paid towards the pending bills of various contractors,” he said.

With the city’s population crossing the one crore mark, there is a need to develop infrastructure and funds are needed for this, he observed.

Meanwhile, a BJP councillor said the High Court has directed the government to reserve the mayor or deputy mayor’s post for an ST candidate and the Congress is trying to take advantage of it as there is no ST councillor in BJP.

“If that is the case, we are all set to go to court. We will not allow them to take the plum post,” he said.

 

Officials work to tackle water scarcity

Friday, 10 May 2013 05:04 administrator
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The Hindu                  10.05.2013

Officials work to tackle water scarcity

Staff Correspondent

Deputy Commissioner orders another pump to be set up at Hongalli pumping station

With Mysore facing an acute water crisis, Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha visited the Hongalli pumping station near here on Thursday to get first-hand information about the situation.

She was accompanied by a team of officials from the Mysore City Corporation, including Commissioner P.G. Ramesh, Vani Vilas Water Works and the Irrigation Department. Ms. Shikha directed the MCC Commissioner to take steps to put in use another pump, in addition to three there, to pump 15 MLD water more from the riverbed to tackle the crisis.

Officials were asked to clear silt and debris from the right bank low level (RBLL) canal of the Krishnaraja Sagar.

Alternate days

Later, she convened a meeting to discuss ward-wise water scarcity. She directed officials to ensure water supply in wards 19 to 24 and 30 to 45 (which get water from Hongalli) on alternate days.

The amount of water supplied from Hongalli to Saraswathipuram, T.K. Layout, K.G. Koppal, V.V. Mohalla, Paduvarahalli, Vontikoppal, Sharadadevi Nagar, Hebbal, Gokulam, Kumbarakoppal, Hootagalli and parts of Mandi Mohalla, among others, has dropped substantially.

The Deputy Commissioner asked officials to rejuvenate borewells and procure more tankers.

While appealing to the public to cooperate with the district administration and the MCC in handling the crisis, she urged the judicious use of until the arrival of the monsoon.

Ms. Shikha told The Hindu that the situation may improve in the next four to five days.

Water-level

Sources said the water-level at KRS on Thursday was at 65.1 ft as against the maximum of 124.8 ft. Outflow was 1,183 cusecs and inflow 232 cusecs.

The level at Kabini dam was 2,246.22 ft as against the maximum of 2,284 ft. Inflow was 39 cusecs and outflow was 100 cusecs.

 
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