Srikakulam: Restoration of water tanks a challenging task

Srikakulam: Purification and restoration of water tanks in rural and urban habitations is a challenging task for officials. These tanks are main resources for residents and will helpful for improvement of ground water levels. But in most of the urban and rural habitations, water tanks are encroached by the locally influenced persons for which officials concerned have allegedly backed at initial stage.

Several water tanks are being encroached at P N Colony,

Hayatinagaram, Gujarathipeta and other areas in Srikakulam city. In Amudalavalasa town also water tanks are encroached at Pujaripeta, Laxminagar and other areas. In Palasa, Narasannapeta, Ponduru, Rajam, Palakonda, Etcherla and Sompeta mandal centres, water tanks are being encroached. In rural areas at Gorinta, Penubarthi, Kanimetta, Palasapuram, Cheekatisompeta and other villages also water tanks are being encroached.

In a case relating to water resources filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), "Garib Guide," the National Green Tribunal (NGT) framed guidelines for protection of water resources in rural and urban habitations and directed the governments to initiate steps.

In this backdrop, the state government issued orders to all districts for protection of water tanks. As part of it, Srikakulam district administration launched steps to identify damaged tanks and action plan for its restoration and purification.

"We have issued orders in this regard to officials of irrigation, forest, Pollution Control Board, District Water Resources Management Agency (DWMA), municipal bodies, panchayat raj, rural water supply and other line departments to list out damaged water tanks," district revenue officer (DRO) Balivada Dayanidhi told to The Hans India.

"We are coordinating the exercise of purification and restoration of tanks and prepared a list of tanks and sent it to state level," executive engineer (EE) of Pollution Control Board (PCB) S Sankar Naik told this newspaper. As number of water tanks are being encroached across the district and its total shape also changed and restoration of all such water resources may not possible, doubted Human Rights Forum representatives K V Jagannadha Rao and B Dhilli Rao.