The Hindu 11.02.2010
GVMC lacks long-term plan for water supply, says CPI(M)
Staff Reporter
| ‘There is no need for resorting to alternate day supply’ |
No effort has been made to de-silt reservoirs, says party leader
Alternate day supply seen as ploy to commercialise water
Stock-taking: CPI(M) leaders B. Ganga Rao, K. Lokanadham, B. Eswaramma and K. Vimala at Yeleru Reservoir in Visakhapatnam.
VISAKHAPATNAM: Accusing the municipal corporation of resorting to creation of artificial water scarcity and lacking a long-term plan, the CPI(M) city unit saw no need for alternate day supply.
As huge amounts are being spent from the Jawaharlal National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), pipelines should be laid from Yeleru and Raiwada to Narava to prevent loss due to evaporation, seepage etc.
While laying pipeline from Yeleru spending between Rs.500 crores and Rs.600 crores would result in the city getting 68 mgd of water, a similar move from Raiwada would have yielded 27 mgd.
A CPI(M) team comprising district secretariat members A. Ajay Sarma and B. Ganga Rao, city secretary K. Lokanadham, floor leader in the GVMC B. Eswaramma, corporator K. Vimala and district committee member K. Srinivasa Rao visited Yeleru reservoir and the lift irrigation scheme at Kateru.
Mr. Lokanadham and Ms.Eswaramma told reporters here on Wednesday that when the city faced a water crisis in 2002-03, it had only Raiwada, Tatipudi and Meghadrigedda schemes.
But now it had the Godavari lift scheme from which 150 cusecs was being pumped. Yeleru reservoir is contributing another 100 cusecs.
In spite of it, proposing to supply water on alternate days was a ploy to commercialise water, they said.
No effort had been made to de-silt reservoirs or store water from the Godavari scheme and Yeleru reservoir ahead of the summer. If de-silted the MGR could store 16 mgd of water, they said.
The GVMC proposed alternate day water supply while it did not take any concrete measures during the past 10 months when there was no rain.
Of the total 75 to 80 mgd water from Yeleru, after providing for industries, 35 mgd could be used for domestic supply, Mr. Lokanadham said. As it was getting a revenue of Rs.120 crores every year from bulk water supply, it should not hesitate to spend Rs.3.6 crores for three months on lifting water from the Godavari scheme.
If the corporation was thinking of the burden of power bill for utilising the lift scheme, industries and the State Government could be asked to foot it, they suggested. But no such effort was being made, they alleged.
Ms. Eswaramma said the GVMC was only thinking of selling water to industries but not about the common man.
