GUNTUR: The Guntur Municipal Corporation (GMC) has drafted summer action plan to provide drinking water to 10 merged villages. Every summer, the people in the merged villages and tail-end localities face untold hardship due to inadequate water. River Krishna is the main source of water for Guntur which has a population of 8,24,975 and the city is spread over 159 sq km.
Water is being drawn from three water treatment plants at Takkellapadu Head Water Works (132 MLD) and one water treatment plant at Sangam Jagarlamudi (13.20 MLD). Water to major parts of the city is being supplied from 43 elevated level service reservoirs (ELSRs) which have a total storage capacity of 52.06 MLD. On an average, 150 litres per capita per day (LPCD) is being supplied to the city and 100 LPCD to a few tail-end localities. In merged villages, the treated water is being supplied to Reddypalem, Gorantla, Adavitakkelapadu and Palakaluru from the ELSRs.
However, the water supply in these 10 merged villages is insufficient amounting to less than 50 LPCD. The projects taken up under AMRUT phase-2 and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are intended to augment water supply to these 10 merged villages. So in order to solve the water issues on a temporary basis, the GMC has hired 36 water tankers with 4 and 12 KL capacity for drinking water supply to the merged villages and other areas making 183 trips per day for the next 75 days.
GMC Mayor Kavati Manohar Naidu and civic chief Ch Anuradha have instructed the officials to speed up pipeline works at Etukuru, Budampadu, Bonthapadu and Etukuru. In the first council body meeting, the GMC officials allotted `2.53 crore for repair of motors and pumpsets and set up pumpsets at Undavalli and Mangalagiri pump houses. The pipeline works, which are underway, at Chuttugunta, SVN Colony, Kodandaramayya Nagar and Lakshmi Nagar, will be completed within two weeks.