Plans to tackle water scarcity in summer

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cleaning up local water bodies and augmenting existing water distribution infrastructure will be among the steps taken by the district administration to tackle water scarcity in the district during the summer months.



The district drought action plan will also include arranging auxiliary water delivery systems in areas with severe water scarcity, District Collector Sanjay Kaul said here on Saturday.



He said instructions had already been given to village officers to identify areas that are likely to face severe water scarcity in the coming days. Instructions had also been given to indentify faulty water distributions systems which need to be repaired immediately.



�These are the short-term measures that we are taking to cope with water scarcity in the summer months from March to April. Other long-term measures, like new drinking water schemes and pumping stations have been included in the development projects of various local bodies in the district approved by the District Planning Committee,� Mr. Kaul said.



Funds for the district drought action plan will be released by the State government in March. Last year, the district had received Rs.one crore for drought relief.