Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam   

BJP demands metro water board

VISAKHAPATNAM: The BJP has demanded the setting up of a metro water board to manage all matters related to water supply in Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation.

The very talk of water supply on alternate days from February 16 would put spokes in the development process with industrialists thinking twice before coming to the region, BJP national executive member and former MLA K. Haribabu told reporters. The image of the city as a tourism destination attracting visitors from the neighbouring States would also suffer. The development of the city would be put back by five years if the alternate day supply was resorted to, he said.

Mr. Haribabu led a BJP team to assess the situation in Raiwada and Tatipudi reservoirs that are among the main sources supplying water to the city. Other members of the team are BJP City President M.Nagendra, State executive members J.Pridhviraj and T.Subbarami Reddy and BJYM State general secretary P.V.N. Madhav. The visit came close on the heels of the team’s first hand experience at Yeleswaram Reservoir and Godavari Lift Irrigation Scheme at Kateru.

Reiterating his opinion that the available water was adequate to supply everyday, Mr. Haribabu said only 50 per cent of the water released from various sources was being realised in the city. Besides, the Meghadrigedda, Mudarsarlova and other reservoirs were not de-silted for years together. They should be cleaned up and their storage capacity increased to tide over the Summer scarcity.

In spite of spending Rs.450 crores on the Kateru Lift Irrigation scheme, the GVMC resorting to alternate day supply showed that it was not able to derive the benefit of the scheme to face the crisis. In view of all these factors, to administer all the water-related issues metro water board should be formed, Mr. Haribabu demanded.

Mr. Nagendra alleged unauthorised cultivation was resorted to along the course of passage of water from the Godavari and Yeleru reservoir and it would be a failure on the part of the MPs, MLAs and the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor if matters were not improved and alternate day supply was resorted to.

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