Even before the onset of summer, hundreds of villages in the district are already reeling under severe drinking water scarcity owing to a poor monsoon and groundwater depletion. In the wake of this, the district administration has sought Rs. 15 crore from the State government under the contingency plan to take up works to provide drinking water to the affected villages.
D. Randeep, Deputy Commissioner, told The Hindu here on Sunday that works such as drilling new borewells, laying of pipelines, and rejuvenating defunct borewells would be taken up to provide drinking water. He said that the district administration has made an appeal to the State government to release one-third of the total amount of Rs. 15 crore immediately so that works can be initiated at the earliest.
Mr. Randeep, Shivashankar, Chief Executive Officer, Zilla Panchayat, and other senior officials of the district administration have already visited Nanjangud, H.D.Kote and Hunsur taluks to assess the magnitude of the drinking water problem in the villages there.
The team is expected to tour the remaining taluks in the next few days. Mr. Randeep said that scores of villages in Bilikere hobli (Hunsur taluk) and Hampapura hobli (H.D.Kote taluk) were facing drinking water shortage and steps have been taken to provide drinking water to these villages.
Taluk-level officials have been directed to inform the district administration if villages under their jurisdiction face severe drinking water problem.
“If the situation warrants, the district administration will not hesitate in supplying water through tankers,” he added. The officials have also been asked to take up water conservation measures.
Mr. Randeep further said that the survey to assess crop loss was complete. According to the survey, crops such as cotton, maize and tobacco have withered on 1,18,000 hectares in the district.
The district administration has appealed to the State government to release Rs.76 crore to distribute input subsidy to farmers according to the guidelines laid down in the Calamity Relief Fund, he added.
