A day after The Hindu carried a report on the mounting water crisis in Kalaburagi city and the apathy of officials to the sufferings of residents, Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatesh Kumar took to task the officers working in the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) that was entrusted with the responsibility of supplying water in the city, and also those of the Kalaburagi City Municipal Corporation at a meeting convened at his office on Tuesday to discuss the issue.
Mr. Kumar once again asked the KUWS&DB officials to ensure that sufficient water is released to every locality in the city at least once in three days or face stringent action.
“There is no dearth of water. Enough water is being pumped to the city from the Bhima. It is because of the lethargy of KUWS&DB that the city is facing a water crisis. You have to supply water to every locality at least once in three days. If you cannot provide water to a particular locality on the third day, you have to supply water through tankers or else get ready to face action. You can hire enough tankers for the purpose,” Mr. Kumar categorically told the officials.
On the situation in the District General Hospital whose operations were hit hard by the erratic supply of water, Mr. Kumar asked Corporation Commissioner Fouzia Taranum to prepare a report with a list of officials who failed to discharge their duties for further action.
“The district hospital attached to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Science as a teaching hospital is full of poor patients. It requires around 2 lakh litres of water every day. I don’t understand why you are not supplying the required amount of water. There is enough water being pumped to the city from the Bhima. It is your mismanagement that has created a water crisis in the city and forced the residents to take to the streets in protest,” he said.
Mr. Kumar also reprimanded KUWS&DB officials for not responding to people’s woes by avoiding calls from those in trouble.
The Hindu report had pointed out how employees from top to bottom in the KUWS&DB were avoiding angry people by either simply switching off their mobile phones or not receiving unknown callers.
“On the one hand, you are not supplying water on time and on the other, you are not facing questions from the people. You simply switch off your mobile phones or do not receive calls. As a result, I am receiving hundreds of calls and SMS every day,” he said.
Mr. Kumar directed the officials to prioritise residential localities over commercial establishments such as hotels while supplying water.
When S.N. Dinesh, Chief Engineer of KUWS&DB of Kalaburagi region, made an attempt to justify himself putting forth staff crunch as a reason for erratic water supply, the Deputy Commissioner did not endorse him.
“If you have a shortage of manpower, you have to arrange it through outsourcing. You need to take proper steps to ensure that men on work are paid on time while you compel them to discharge their duties. You cannot put forth such excuses to escape from your responsibilities,” the officer said.