JOIN USOfficials call to conserve water
While the city reels under water scarcity, private water tankers are using the situation to reap profits by selling water.
Mysore City Corporation, Vani Vilas Water Works and Jamshedpur Utilities and Supply Company Limited (JUSCO), in a meeting held on Tuesday, has decided to increase the number of tankers to supply water to water-starved areas in the city, bringing temporary relief. However, with water levels dipping fast at the KRS reservoir, water scarcity is expected to aggravate.
C Raju, Deputy Commissioner of Administration, Mysore City Corporation, has urged the people of the city to conserve water. “If water is not conserved and used without discretion, residents of the city will face a lot of problems in coming days,” he said.
Several organisations in the city have also called for the judicious use of water. “Despite awareness on water scarcity, people of the city are not acting on it. People should refrain from using water unnecessarily”, he said.
Subramanya, Executive Engineer, Vani Vilas Water Works, said that arrangements to supply water to all areas in the city have been made. He dismissed allegations that private water tankers were drawing water from the storage reservoirs of VVWW.
“Private water supply agencies are drawing water from borewells installed in the outskirts of the city and are selling it in the city. We do not have the total number of private water tankers operating in the city,” he said.
Five trips
Abdul Subhan, an engineer of VVWW, overseeing the tanker water supply in the city said that tankers were doing ‘four to five’ trips a day to ensure that water is supplied to all parts of the city. “The distance of reservoirs of VVWW and the places where there is water demand has caused some delays in supplying water,” he said.
The number of tankers which was supplying water has decreased from 32 to 28, as four of the requisitioned private tankers were not available to supply water on Wednesday, he said.
Private water tankers will be requisitioned, in case more tankers are required to supply water, he added.
Demands by organisations to postpone construction activity until the rainy season, as the activities were water intensive and as a measure to conserve water has also fallen on deaf ears. “Construction activities have continued in the city, as contractors have arranged for water supply. We have not received any instructions to postpone construction activities,” said Krishna Bovi, in-charge Joint Director of Town Planning of MCC.
Sources also told Deccan Herald that water pumping activity at pumping stations such as Hongalli, was also hit by recurrent power failures, worsening the water woes of the city.