Mysore/Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner Dr. K.V. Rajendra has instructed the officers to take precautions to ensure that the drinking water related issues won’t surface in the district and tackle them effectively.

Chairing the District Disaster Management Authority meeting through video conference at his office in city yesterday, the DC said “Several complaints related to drinking water supply are being received and all the officers including Tahsildars, Taluk Panchayats Executive Officers and AEEs of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Department should take adequate measures by conducting daily meetings to check water related complaints in the villages.”

DC Rajendra also clarified that there is no dearth of funds for drinking water supply, but the officials should handle the situation in coordination. The bills of private borewells towards water supply will be borne from the disaster management funds. Hence the private borewells should be hired depending on the requirement to supply water to the people.

Presently, water is supplied to villages facing water crisis through private borewells. If no rainfall occurs in the coming days, about 113 villages are expected to face severe water crisis. As a precautionary measure, private borewells have been already identified as per the demand and the officials must buckle up to handle the drought situation effectively. The lakes will be playing a pivotal role during drought and the works on collecting information of the lakes and removing the silt should be taken up. A list of whether the lakes are encroached upon or not should be prepared, along with the action taken to fence them. The silt removed from the lake can be used for building basic infrastructural facilities and also for farming activities, advised DC.

Taluk-wise meeting of farmer leaders should be convened and complaints related to drinking water supply, shortage of fodder for cattle and the status of gau shalas should be sought to address the issues.

Of late, there are instances of drilling private borewells without taking any permission. Such cases should be taken into serious consideration and action should be initiated within the ambit of law against the guilty. That apart, the borewells sans water and defunct borewells rendered unused without electricity connection should be closed at the earliest, as they may pose a bigger threat otherwise in the future.

The focus should be on burial grounds, lakes and other public properties and should be utilised for meeting the demands for creating government facilities and aiding the poor without shelter of their own, by incorporating Land Beat System.

Awareness must be created from Gram Panchayat (GP) level itself among people about the drinking water related issues and drought situation being faced at present, cautioning them against wasting water and utilise them as per the requirement.

In the recent days, cholera cases are also being reported prompting measures to ensure quality before supplying the water.

With the rain expected in this month, measures should be taken to provide fodder and water to the cattle and livestock. Farmers should be encouraged to grow crops suiting the relevant weather condition, he said.

Water points should be set up at busy places like markets, hotels and other places for the benefit of tourists and the public.

He also suggested to advise the people to consume liquid food and wear cotton clothes to beat the heat.

In case of any complaints related to drinking water, people can lodge complaints by dialling 1077, the DC said.

ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri said “With health related issues cropping up among the people due to the consumption of contaminated water, water should be supplied only after testing its quality. Moreover, measures should be taken to maintain the water supply without giving room for any issues.”

Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) Commissioner Dr. N.N. Madhu, Tahsildars of Mysuru, Nanjangud, Periyapatna, HD Kote, Sargur, T. Narasipur, Hunsur and KR Nagar taluks and officers of Revenue Department were present.