PUDUCHERRY: State BJP secretary R V Saminathan on Wednesday urged the Lieutenant Governor to constitute a high level committee to restore the water channels, ponds, tanks and lakes to the condition in which they existed in Puducherry during the French regime.
In a statement here, Saminathan said 80 per cent of the rainwater in the recent downpour have been wasted as they reached the sea. The Ossudu lake, the biggest tank here, is yet to reach its full capacity as the water cannot flow into the lake due to encroachment of its channels by real estate owners in the past 20 years. Many plots have been converted into housing plots, aggravating the situation. As a result, the ground water level in Puducherry has not been enhanced much, he said.
Saminathan said the drainages, canals and channels were not desilted and blamed it on the government’s inefficiency.
On the erratic power supply at the slightest of showers, Saminathan said the government should ensure laying of underground cables at all places to prevent such disruptions.
He said instead of providing free mixies and grinders to the well-to-do people, the government should ensure uninterrupted power supply and quality roads, utilising that money.
He also demanded that the damaged houses should be repaired on a war footing and the labourers who could not go to work for the last 20 days on account of rain be provided with a financial assistance of `5,000 per head. Saminathan said all affected persons should be provided with food packets.