With summer slowly setting in, drinking water crisis is looming large in many parts of Karnataka.
H.K. Patil, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR), said on Tuesday: “Storage in most of the reservoirs in the State is not sufficient to meet the drinking water requirement in the coming summer.”
There is a need to make use of the existing drinking water storage with utmost caution to tide over the impending water crisis, he said. “Water had not depleted so fast before the onset of summer in the last few years,” he said.
Mr. Patil has convened a high-level meeting of officials and water experts to discuss the issue by weekend. After deliberating over the issue and chalking out contingency programmes to tackle the crisis, he would take up the issue with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. “This will be the first priority in the next Cabinet meeting,” he said.
“By month end, the department will have a clear picture of the situation and a contingency plan will be in place,” Mr. Pail explained.
Expressing regret over the delay by the Centre in releasing funds allocated for drinking water, he said that of the Rs. 531-crore allocated, the State had received Rs. 219 crore for 2015-16. The government had to make use of its resources without waiting for the Centre to release funds, he noted.
Mr. Patil said that RDPR Ministers from the southern States will appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi through the Union Minister for Panchayat Raj for release of funds earmarked for programmes such as drinking water, and Swachh Bharat.
