Guntur MP Jayadev Galla has said there were several hurdles in supplying drinking water to the city and rural areas, and there was a need for more water tankers for tail-end areas.

Releasing a White Paper on drinking water supply in the city at a press conference, Mr. Jayadev said 130 million litres per day (MLD) was being supplied to households across the city.

The rain deficit last, he said, had depleted the ground water table to below 20 feet. Moreover, connections from 18 new reservoirs to households constructed as part of a World Bank project had not been completed. Only 4,000 household connections had been completed out of a target of 50,000.

Lakes dried up

In Guntur, there were 16 lakes which had dried up depleting the water table further. And although ₹30 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of a reservoir on the Gorantla hill, the project had not taken off, he said.

In Tadepalli, there were just 5,940 connections for 54,362 people and in Mangalagiri, there were 9,875 connections for 98,579 people. Ponnur had 4,529 connections for 62,000 people, he added.