Warning of criminal action against those who illegally tap drinking water supplied under the Cauvery combined water supply scheme and damage the pipelines, Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao has said a ‘Summer Action Plan’ has been drawn to tackle the water crisis in the district.
Detailing the action plan to reporters here on Tuesday, Mr Rao said the district administration has decided to take up 372 works at a total cost of ₹12.90 crore to create additional water sources, establish additional Reverse Osmosis units and regularise and stabilise the water supply.
Despite the district administration making available 78 MLD (million litre of water per day) - 35 MLD under the Cauvery combined water supply scheme and 40 MLD through local sources against the demand of 80 MLD, several areas faced water problems due to illegal tapping and leakages in the pipelines, he said.
“Optimum distribution of drinking water was a major challenge,” Mr. Rao said adding special teams have been formed to detect illegal tapping of water and initiate criminal action. The officials have so far found 305 illegal connections, he said adding FIRs have been filed in a few cases.
The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board, which supplies Cauvery water, maintains daily supply to 1,040 hamlets, once in two days supply to 565 hamlets and once in three days supply to 701 hamlets, he said. The Cauvery water could not be supplied to 262 hamlets, he added.
Though potable water was made available to these hamlets with local sources, a crisis like situation arose as people wanted Cauvery water, he said. Steps have been taken to address the problems with the summer action plan, he said. RO plants were being set up in villages where the groundwater has become saline, he said. Weekly review meetings were held to take stock of the situation, he added.
The district administration was confident of tackling the situation in the coming days as TWAD Board has assured to maintain supply of 30 to 35 MLD of water, he said. Announcing toll free number 1800 425 7040, the Collector said public could lodge complaints by calling the number. They could also lodge complaints by calling the offices of urban and rural local bodies, he said.