Mysuru: With the onset of summer season, District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa directed the officials to take precautionary measures for preventing any water crisis during summer and also to get prepared for tackling any possible  drought.

He was speaking after presiding over a review meeting at the ZP hall here yesterday.

Pointing out that there is no drinking water crisis as of now in the district, Dr. Mahadevappa said there is enough water in KRS and Kabini dams because of copious rainfall last year. “The officials must ensure that there is no drinking water shortage during the entire summer. The problematic villages must be identified and action must be taken for addressing water issues. As there is a possibility of disease outbreak during summer, the Health authorities must take preventive measures for checking the spread of diseases”, he said.

Continuing, Dr. Mahadevappa said that the officials must take care to see there is no fodder shortage for cattle. Stating that as of now there seems to be no possibility of setting up Goshalas, he said that officials must rejuvenate borewells which have dried up. He further said that the officials must ensure supply of pure drinking water and leave no scope for any complaints in this regard.

Plenty of water in Dams  

Pointing out that the district received 128 mm excess rainfall from January to December last year, Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy said that the district received 965 mm of rain last year as against the normal rainfall of 837 mm. He further said that 9 TMC of water would remain in dams by the end of May even after usage for drinking water and release of water for crops.

Officials of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation department said that a list of 94 villages which may face drinking water crisis during summer has been prepared. However, there would be no drinking water problems in urban areas and even the ground water table has not dipped, they said adding that samples of water sources would be sent for testing. They further said that water was supplied in tankers at Hootagalli, Periyapatna and Bogadi last summer.

Dr. Mahadevappa said that officials must take prior  permission for supply of drinking water through tankers, at the meeting chaired by local Legislators. Also, all water supply tankers must be installed with a GPS system and SDRF rules and regulations must be followed, he said adding that doing so will ensure smooth payment of bills.

ZP CEO S. Ukesh Kumar, MCC Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif, Additional DC P. Shivaraju and other officials were present.

Meeting lasted 15 minutes

The meeting called to discuss drinking water supplies during summer, lasted for just about 15 minutes. The officials had arrived at the venue at 11 am itself, even though the meeting was scheduled at 12 noon. District Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa came only at about 1.50 pm, late by a good 100 minutes. Dr. Mahadevappa instructed the officials regarding drinking water supplies during summer and cattle fodder stocks.