The Hindu                  23.04.2013

Water position precarious in Kurnool

Water sources are drying up one after the other.

Water supply position has become precarious in Kurnool district with the sources going dry one after the other. The low rainfall in the last monsoon and harsh summer have added to the woes with steep depletion of water levels in the tanks and drinking water sources.

Kurnool city is likely to face water shortage at the fag end of the season if summer showers are not reported in May. The Municipal authorities have stocked 100 tmcft in the summer storage tank which would support the supply for 25 days.

The officials are planning to draw another 150 tmcft from the Sunkesula reservoir to supplement the supply from the summer tank. The reservoir had storage of 370 tmcft, including the dead storage. Municipal Engineer Rajasekhar said with the present availability, the supply could be ensured for 55 days to the city.

Since showers are a regular feature in May, water supply situation is expected to improve before the present storage is exhausted.

Meanwhile, the irrigation authorities secured release of 800 cusecs of water from the State quota of the TB dam, on April 19. The release would continue till April 28.

However, the Municipal authorities do not attach much significance to the TB dam releases as very little quantity of water reaches the Sunkesula barrage due to diversion by farmers along the course of the river.

The situation is not so comfortable in other parts of the district as well.

Gajuladinne reservoir, which is located in the heart of the drought-prone Pathikonda area, has been depleted completely this year for repairs.

But alternative arrangements have been made for supply of water.

Securing the water release through LLC has become difficult what with the farmers in the upper reaches resorting to pilferage.

Meanwhile, the demand for construction of a reservoir with a capacity of 10 tmcft near Gundrevula is growing with the flow to the KC canal declining year after year. The areas dependent on Srisailam canals are reasonably comfortable.

The Hindu                  23.04.2013

Prioritise water distribution: Chandy

Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asked the district administration and the civic bodies to give priority to drinking water distribution.

Says legal, technical issues should not be a hurdle. 

His exhortation came at a review meeting of the district’s drought situation here on Monday.

Mr. Chandy said legal and technical issues should not be a problem for drinking water distribution. He said permission was granted to the civic bodies, District Collector, and Kerala Water Authority to spend as much as Rs.20 lakh for distributing drinking water in vehicles.

The Chief Minister requested the officials to make effective use of the procedural concessions granted by the government for drinking water distribution. He urged them to give priority to ensure the quality of the water being distributed.

Advance and more

Mr. Chandy asked the officials to avoid contractors who had been blacklisted. He said all panchayats would be given Rs.50,000 as advance, and effective use of it would fetch another Rs.50,000. He said the stipulation that the village officer should sign on the drinking water bill was no longer binding.

The Chief Minister asked the MLAs to convene meetings at the constituency level to solve drinking water-related issues.

Mr. Chandy appreciated the efforts of the district administration in managing the drought situation in the district. He said the foresight of the administration under District Collector M.C. Mohandas had reduced the intensity of the drought in Malappuram.

The district had gone according to an action plan formed on August 4, 2012, to contain water sources, including the major rivers. The bunds built across major waterbodies had reduced the depletion of groundwater in several parts of the district.

As many as 2,935 schemes were taken up in the 15 blocks across the district to face the summer. As many as 535 of them were temporary bunds, and the work on 507 was over.

‘A model’

The Chief Minister said other districts should emulate the work done by Malappuram in managing the drought situation.

It was in 2012 that the State witnessed the lowest rainfall in the past five years. Most of the wells, ponds, and other waterbodies were affected by the shortage of rainfall. While the water level in open wells was the lowest in Vengara, that in bore-wells was the most affected in Perinthalmanna.

Minister for Industries P.K. Kunhalikutty; Minister for Education P.K. Abdu Rabb; Minister for Urban Development Manjalamkuzhi Ali; Minister for Tourism A.P. Anil Kumar; Minister for Agriculture K.P. Mohanan; Minister for Revenue Adoor Prakash; MLAs from the district; district panchayat president Suhara Mampad; District Collector M.C. Mohandas; District Superintendent of Police K. Sethuraman; municipal chairpersons; office-bearers of the Panchayat Association; and district administration officials attended the review meeting.