Hubballi-Dharwad Mayor promises water supply once in three days in coming months

Admitting to the delay in the implementation of continuous water supply owing to various factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, Hubballi-Dharwad Mayor Jyoti Patil has promised that in the coming months, steps will be taken to ensure water supply once every three days.

She gave the ruling on the issue during the special general body meeting held in Hubballi on February 10, after taking into consideration the assurance given by officials of Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC) and representatives of L&T company, which is executing the round-the-clock water supply project.

The special meeting was held in accordance with the decision taken during the monthly general body meeting held on January 31, in which councillors, cutting across party lines, had taken severe exception to the delay in implementation of the project, apart from the irregular water supply in several wards of the twin cities.

The special general body meeting also began on a noisy note, with councillors objecting to the absence of senior officials, including the chief engineer of KUIDFC. However, they later agreed to continue the proceedings.

Initiating the discussion, former mayor Viranna Savadi emphasised the need for collective efforts to resolve the issue.

Subsequently, councillors of both ruling and opposition parties raised several concerns regarding the irregular water supply. They underscored the problems being faced by residents owing to the supply of water only once in nine to 10 days, contaminated water, late night supply, pipeline bursts, and overflow in some localities, and complained that repeated pleas for remedial measures had remained unresolved.

Councillor Iqbal Navalur lashed out at the L&T officials for not being able to supply potable drinking water to the residents of Old Hubballi. He said contaminated water, in which insects were found, was being supplied to the localities in Old Hubballi. Mr. Navalur also expressed disappointment over the prolonged delay in obtaining permission from the National Highways Authority of India for pipeline works and said the issue had remained unaddressed for years.

Initially, several councillors were not happy with the reply given by Municipal Commissioner Rudresh Ghali. But subsequently, he replied to all their queries and explained the steps being taken to redress the issues. He also briefed the councillors about the corrective measures being taken to expedite the 24×7 water supply project.

Responding to the prolonged discussion, Ms. Patil said works at several locations, including Saundatti, were nearing completion and that 24 storage tanks had been constructed and will be tested soon. Permission-related issues, including those concerning the National Highways, will be addressed by the officials concerned, she said.