Mysuru: Chamarajanagar town is facing a severe drinking water crisis this summer, with water being supplied once in eight days in several wards, forcing residents to depend on private tankers and triggering public anger against the City Municipal Council (CMC).“Due to irregular water supply, residents of Galipura, Viveka Nagar and several layouts are buying water from tankers after paying Rs 700 to Rs 1,000 per tanker,” said Umesh, a resident of Viveka Nagar.Officials said water is pumped from the Cauvery at T Narasipura through a pipeline and from 284 borewells to over 16,000 households, but the supply remains inadequate as new layouts emerge and the population increases.Though the CMC pumps nine lakh litres a day for all 31 wards, old pipelines, technical glitches at the pumping station, and leakages have led to distribution losses. Borewell yield has also dropped due to summer-related groundwater depletion.Additional deputy commissioner T Javaregowda said measures have been initiated and that the Hosamalangi drinking water project would ease the situation. Tenders have been floated for the first phase of the project at a cost of Rs 153 crore.
