Mangaluru: Puttur MLA Ashok Kumar Rai has urged minister for rural development and panchayat raj Priyank Kharge to sanction Rs 101 crore to implement an inclusive drinking water distribution network in the Vitla town panchayat limits under Bantwal taluk.The MLA, who met the minister and submitted a memorandum, said that once the government approves the Rs 101 crore project, it will help the town panchayat to provide uninterrupted drinking water supply to every household in its jurisdiction in future.He said the panchayat has been facing drinking water shortages during peak summer every year.“The Multi-Village Drinking Water Supply Scheme being implemented by the rural drinking water and sanitation department for Alike and 442 other habitations in Bantwal and Puttur taluks includes only the bulk supply of drinking water to Vitla town panchayat. This scheme does not cover the distribution network connecting individual households,” he noted.Further, he added that the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board has already conducted a survey and prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for the distribution network. As per the report, Vitla’s population may touch 27,500 over the next 30 years, and the projected drinking water demand is estimated at 4.8 million litres per day (MLD).The existing multi-village scheme provides for a bulk water supply of 3.4 MLD. Officials of the rural drinking water and sanitation department have indicated that the additional 1.4 MLD required to meet future demand will be arranged in due course. Based on these projections, the board has finalised the DPR for the project, the MLA said.“I have requested the minister to approve Rs 101 crore for implementing the distribution network. I have convinced the minister that the project will provide a long-term solution to Vitla’s drinking water needs. The minister has responded positively and assured that necessary action would be taken at the earliest,” he said.
