Poor maintenance leads to water woes: Expert

Visakhapatnam: The CPM alleged that due to poor maintenance of water supply network, the people in the city are facing tough times to get the drinking water in the summer season.

With the Purushottampatnam Lift Irrigation Scheme (PLIS), enough waters are flowing into the Yeleru canal. After completion of the PLIS, 115 MDG water is flowing into the canal against 45 MGD water registered during the last summer, the CPM said.

Addressing media conference here on Friday, former Chief Engineer (Irrigation) C Satyanarayana and CPM senior leader Ch Narasinga Rao said that of the present 115 MGDs water, Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is storing 50 per cent of water in its second balancing reservoir and the remaining 50 per cent of water is supposed to be used for drinking water needs of the city.

Before PLIS, every year the administration used to draw dead storage waters. However, with the PLIS, 20 TMCs water is being received and there should not be a drinking water problem in the summer season, Narasinga Rao said.

However, due to poor administration and maintenance in the water supply system, the people in the city are facing drinking water woes. The GVMC is failing to supply drinking water to residential colonies, Narasinga Rao pointed out.

He also demanded to construct a pipeline from Meghadrigedda reservoir to pump the waters into the totally dried up Mudasarlova reservoir. He also demanded to pump water into Ravula Cheruvu from Kanithi Balancing reservoir to provide drinking water to all houses.

"The government constructed PLIS and enough water is coming from River Godavari. But the administration is not taking enough steps to optimum utilization of the water. The GVMC should immediately increase the number of water tankers and supply the drinking water to all the residential colonies in the city, he demanded.