Mandya gears up to tackle summer thirst; ZP CEO warns officials

With summer fast approaching and concerns over depleting groundwater levels, Chief Executive Officer of Mandya Zilla Panchayat, K. R. Nandini, has issued a stern warning to officials to ensure that no village in the district faces drinking water shortage in the coming months.

Presiding over a review meeting at her office in Mandya, the CEO made it clear that any negligence in maintaining drinking water supply would invite action.

She directed officials to immediately assess the status of all drinking water sources in gram panchayat level and undertake urgent repairs of borewells, motors and pipelines wherever necessary. Regular monitoring must be carried out to ensure uninterrupted water supply, she stressed.

Ms. Nandini instructed officials to prepare a comprehensive village-wise report on drinking water availability and to arrange tanker supply wherever required. She also emphasised the need to create public awareness about water conservation and judicious use, while ensuring priority supply to schools, anganwadis and public health centres.

Highlighting the challenges posed by summer, the CEO noted that rising temperatures could dry up lakes, ponds and wells, reduce groundwater levels and sharply increase water demand. Insufficient rainfall, excessive borewell usage and overconsumption of water for agricultural and domestic purposes could further aggravate the situation. She cautioned that water scarcity could also heighten the risk of water-borne diseases.

Officials have been asked to identify vulnerable villages, including those that depended on tanker supply last summer and those that recorded low rainfall. Directions were issued to inspect borewell water levels, assess storage in open wells, lakes and tanks, and compile details of damaged pump sets, motors and pipelines.

Gram Sabha and Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) meetings must be convened to gather local feedback and identify affected wards and habitations, particularly in SC/ST colonies and remote areas, the meeting was informed.

Among the immediate measures defined at the meeting are repairing and recharging defunct borewell motors and pumps, deploying tankers only when essential and conducting mandatory water quality tests. In cases of acute scarcity, private borewells may be hired on a rental basis, new borewells drilled and necessary pipelines and electricity connections provided, according to the officials.

The CEO further directed officials to install new transformers where required and relocate transformers from defunct borewells to functional ones to ensure uninterrupted water supply.

Beginning March 2, public grievance meetings will be held at taluk headquarters every Monday, accompanied by field visits to review drinking water and other civic issues. Public complaints will be addressed on the spot, she said in a press release.