JOIN USRural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadeesh Shettar said on Thursday said that depletion of groundwater level coupled with load shedding has been posing a challenge to supply potable water.
The districts facing severe water shortage are - Bangalore urban, Bangalore rural, Kolar, Chikballapur, Belgaum, Bijapur, Raichur, Mangalore, Mysore, Gulbarga, Uttara Kannada, Koppal and Mandya. The highest number of tankers are being used in Bangalore urban district - 286, followed by 81 in Gulbarga, 56 in Bijapur and 34 in Mangalore .
Funds released
A sum of Rs one crore has been sanctioned as a special grant to Chikballapur and Kolar districts. The government has sought the assistance of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for a survey of water reserves, he said. Many borewells have gone dry defunct as no sufficient water found. Therefore it has been decided to trace water reserves”, he said.
Shettar said a sum of Rs 1,400 crore has been sought from the Centre for road work under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. The government had utilised Rs 853 crore under the scheme last year and the Centre has raised objection for seeking funds.