Telangana: Officials seek water release from reservoir in Karnataka
HYDERABAD: The state government is taking steps to ensure adequate drinking water supply to all villages and towns. Ten senior IAS officers have been appointed as special officers for districts to monitor the supply of water and prepare special action plans.
Insufficient rainfall since October and decreasing water levels in the Godavari and Krishna reservoirs have caused a shortage of drinking water. It is learnt that the Irrigation department has prepared proposals to request the Karnataka government to release water from the Narayanpur reservoir, when necessary.
Telangana has a total of 142 towns, excluding those under the GHMC limits, comprising 130 municipalities and 12 municipal corporations. Officials said that even though the drinking water supply has decreased by less than 10% compared to normal days, they are providing enough water in the towns.
The average drinking water supply in normal days is 1,398.05 MLD (millions of litres per day), while the current supply stands at 1,371 MLD,resulting in a shortage of 26.31 MLD, officials added.
The government is prioritising Karimnagar and Khammam as there is a drinking water shortage in these two municipal corporations. Officials said the government is making efforts to provide water to these corporations through the Udaya Samudram reservoir.
Alternative arrangements are being made to supply adequate water to Karimnagar town from Mid Manair and Lower Manair Dams, they added.
Currently, 27 towns have a water supply exceeding 135 LPCD (litres per capita per day), while 67 towns face issues with supplies below 100 LPCD.
Hence, the government has planned to identify and provide alternative water sources to these towns. Water is being supplied to 23,839 habitations in rural areas through Mission Bhagiratha, with each village receiving 100 LPCD water, according to officials.