THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: To tackle the severe drought and rapid depletion of groundwater in the district, a monitoring cell will be formed at the District Collectorate here which will monitor activities, including the distribution of potable water in the coming months.
A decision in this regard was taken during a meeting of the Thiruvananthapuram District Development Committee that was held at the Collectorate Conference Hall here on Saturday. It was also decided that the activities of the disaster management division, water authority, groundwater department, major - minor irrigation departments and panchayats functioning from the Collectorate will be unified for solving the drinking water crisis. “The State Government will allot funds for the district to address the drought and to supply potable water. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made this clear,” said Divakaran during the meeting. The MLAs also said that available fund will be used for the purpose on an emergency basis.
Apart from drinking water kiosks at various parts of the district, water will also be distributed using tankers. Testing of water from sources selected for drinking water is in progress and more sources will be identified with the help of the respective panchayats, the collector said.
As many as 110 water tanks, available with the Revenue Department, to collect water have been distributed at various regions of the district. Another 200 tanks will be distributed in the coming days, it was stated in the meeting. The meeting also decided that it will allow digging of borewells in selected areas under strict supervision. However, borewells will not be allowed with the intention of selling the water.
Three of the RO plants set up in Sabarimala will be relocated to Anchuthengu in the district on Monday, the collector said. A squad will be deployed to look into complaints of misuse of potable water, especially in flats. The Collector has instructed tahsildars to take strict action against those who fill fields and water bodies that have dried up in the summer.