30 pure drinking water units to come up soon

Development works planned at 3 beaches, road to be widened; bridge work at Kotekar

Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader on Tuesday said 30 pure drinking water plants will be set up in different parts of the district. Addressing mediapersons here, Khader said, by setting up these units it is intended to provide pure water for an affordable rate of 50 paisa per litre. A household will get 20 litres of water can daily for Rs 10, cheaper again when compared to the price charged for mineral water bottles, he added.

Khader said 22 units with reverse osmosis (RO) facility will be set up by  Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) under public-private-partnership (PPP) model, while five will be installed by Karnataka Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department and  remaining three by Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Limited (KRIDL). The places identified include Banwtal (16 units) and Mangaluru (14 units).The smaller units may cost Rs 7.5 lakh and bigger Rs 10 lakh, he added.

Besides, it has been also been proposed to set up such water units for a population of every 1,000 people. The authorities concerned have been directed to identify such places and prepare a proposal in this regard.

Khader said the units will be set up close to existing borewells that would be linked to the same, without affecting the system in place.  To ensure various facilities at beaches, an amount of Rs 8.72 crore has been sanctioned, pending  administrative approval.

An estimated Rs 3.32 crore will be spent on Someshwara beach, followed by Rs 1.89 crore on Ullal beach and Rs 3.51 crore on Talappady beach.

The amount will be spent on developing landscapes, walking paths, watch towers, life guards, dust bins, rescue boats and also improvement of approach roads. The works will be taken up following administrative approval.

Road widening
A stretch of road from Mudipu to Deraje wil be widened up to one-and-a-half metres on either side at an estimated cost of Rs six crore under State highway development project. Additional Rs lakh has been sanctioned to take up bridge works at Kotekar, the border of Ullal, he added.