The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Plea to preserve drinking water reservoirs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Plea to preserve drinking water reservoirs

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, DEC.22. A fervent plea for preservation of the two main drinking water reservoirs--Osmansagar and Himayatsagar-- as well as differential tariffs for public and commercial institutions by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board was made at the public hearing organised by the `Water for People' campaign here on Wednesday.

The Magsayay Award winner and noted water conservation campaign activist, Rajendera Singh, called for "communitisation" and "decentralised management" of water resources where common people's interest is supreme.

His contention was that water was available, so were ample funds, but mismanagement was leading to scarcity problems with the Governments bent on taking up mega projects.

Mr. Singh said there was a need for a law to regulate the ownership of water resources so that common people were not exploited.

The former Supreme Court judge, B.P. Jeevan Reddy, underscored the need for Governments to keep control over water management and distribution. Any idea of privatising these aspects would be disastrous.

`Backdoor permissions'

The Water for People Campaign Convenor, C. Ramachandraiah, charged that though there was a ban on setting up industries in the catchment areas of the two city drinking water reservoirs, "backdoor permissions were being obtained".

Sheela Prasad of University of Hyderabad felt that while water tariff revision was ok, she found it incongruous a public general hospital like Osmania paying the same rate as a corporate hospital like Apollo.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Andhra Pradesh