The Hindu : Contingency plan to tackle drought

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jan 18, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Contingency plan to tackle drought

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, JAN. 17. The State Government has drawn up a contingency plan to tackle the drought situation, particularly drinking water scarcity, for the next four months.

Briefing presspersons after a Cabinet subcommittee meeting on drought relief, the Minister for Rural Water Supply, K.B. Koliwad, said the number of drought-hit taluks had gone up from 155 to 162 and concerted efforts were being made to ensure the supply of drinking water to the villages. About 20 litres per capita was being supplied, he said and mentioned that 133 villages were getting water through tankers.

He said the situation was still not under control and the fear was that in the coming months the water supply situation would worsen, both in rural and urban areas.

He said that Rs. 18.45 crore had been released from the Calamity Relief Fund, while the State had released Rs. 13.90 crore for providing drinking water in the drought-hit areas.

The Home Minister, Mallikarjun Kharge, said that the Central team which visited the drought-hit areas was expected to submit its report to the Centre by Monday and the State was hoping for early support from the Centre.

Meeting on Tuesday

Our Gulbarga Special Correspondent writes:

The State Government has convened a meeting of Deputy Commissioners of all the districts and Chief Executive Officers of zilla panchayats in Bangalore on Tuesday to assess the drought situation and frame a contingency plan to tackle the situation.

The Deputy Commissioner, Anjum Parvez, told presspersons here today that that the district administration had sought Rs. 10.5 crore from the Government to tackle the drinking water shortage.

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