The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Water crisis: BJP threatens stir

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Tuesday, Mar 01, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Water crisis: BJP threatens stir

By Our Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM, FEB. 28. The city Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has blamed the Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (VMC) for failing to supply of Godavari water to the city and warned of launching a people's movement if steps were not taken to resolve the burning issue of drinking water supply during summer.

Talking to reporters here on Monday, the president of the city BJP, Bandaru Rangamohan Rao, said that his party had been warning the VMC of the drinking water shortage for the last five years and also launched an agitation for diversion of Godavari waters to the city along with other political parties in 2003.

"The VMC promised to supply Godavari water last year itself and talked of 24 x 7--water supply round the clock. But it has failed miserably in setting up the filtration plants and storage tanks. The way things are going on, we doubt if the works to bring Godavari waters would be completed before summer which is fast approaching," he opined.

Buffer reserves

Another important issue the VMC had ignored was to anticipate lack of adequate water at the very source, Godavari river, though seldom did such a situation arise. As the problem had surfaced now, it was only proper for the VMC to prepare foolproof plans to ensure there was no disruption in water supply by keeping buffer reserves and increasing the storage capacity, he suggested. Mr. Rangamohan Rao pointed out the distribution system with pipelines laid ages ago was also faulty with leakages all through and there was need to take corrective measures. Also, other water sources like the Jhanjhavati from where water to Visakhapatnam city could be brought through gradient without the need for pumping, should be considered, he felt.

"The water sources remain the same since VMC's formation in 1980. The population has doubled since. Unless the Godavari water is brought and all the works are completed immediately, there will be acute shortage of drinking water. Lack of water would hamper the development of the city," he stated.

Officials blamed

The BJP Floor Leader in the corporation, Marada Apparao Reddy, remarked that lack of proper understanding on the part of the VMC officials was delaying the Godavari water scheme. "They complain of the existence of granite stones and railway bridges now. But didn't they see them before preparing the plans?," he asked. The State BJP executive member, J. Prithviraj, corporators--B. Jagadeesh, B. Lakshminarayana, Kona Ramakrishna— the BJP city unit's general secretaries, Nagendra, Bhaskara Murthy, S.V.S. Prakasa Reddy, former president, T. Subbarami Reddy, and others were also present during the press conference.

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