Drinking water project still incomplete

Narimogaru: The state government implemented the clean drinking water project with the aim to provide purified drinking water to every single person in the state. The project which is being implemented under the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Departments is being put into effect all throughout the state by Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Corporation.

But, the delay being experienced in the implementation of the project and the installation of the units at unnecessary locations has rendered the units useless.  Amidst this, companies providing mineral water also have a profit behind this. The units which have been installed by spending lakhs of rupees together is currently similar to the existence of a pickle which cannot be used while having food.

Not a single drop of water

As per the project, the aim of the government is to install one such unit per gram panchayat through which the villagers can take the benefit of purified drinking water. The estimated cost per unit was assumed to be Rs 5.88 lakh at the beginning of the project. Currently, the price for the same unit is more than Rs 13 lakh.

In all panchayats

Of the 230 gram panchayats in the district, 2-3 units have been installed per panchayat. But all are useless. At some locations in Dakshina Kannada district, a year has passed by since the work on the units began, but the work has not yet been completed.

Meanwhile, those units which have been completed do not have the provision of water since some years. Besides there is confusion regarding who is to supply the required water for the unit. Such purified drinking water units have been installed at several locations in the district, yet the officials are not giving the definite information on how many units have been installed. According to the information provided, the estimated cost behind the installation of every single unit is Rs 13 lakh.

Incomplete project

It has been noticed that the delay in the implementation of the work is because of the lobbying by mineral water companies. There is a fear that the mineral water companies may have to close down their business if the government’s project of providing 1 liter of purified drinking water at the coast of Rs 1 is implemented properly. There is no better example other than this to depict how a project related to the welfare of the people is made ineffective, is the opinion of the people.

Request has been sent

“Two purified drinking water units have been installed within Our GP limits but the work on them has not yet been completed.  We have requested KRDLC officials to complete the work with haste. If the project is implemented, the water problem during the summers can be handled to an extent,” informs Indira B K, President, Savanur GP