Govt steps to provide drinking water in fluoride-hit areas

Karnataka government has released Rs 86.70 crore during 2013-14 and Rs 100 crore for 2014-15 for emergent works approved through Task Force Committees to provide piped drinking water in fluoride and arsenic affected areas, state assembly was informed today.
Karnataka Rural Development and Panchayatraj Minister H K Patil said revival works like drilling of new borewells, pipeline extension and providing higher-capacity pumpsets have been taken up.
Other problematic habitations are being included in the current year's action plan, Patil said in a written reply to Basavaraj Rayareddy (Cong).
In addition to this, action had been taken to install 1,687 water purification plants in the fluoride,iron and arsenic affected habitations for supplying treated water, the minister said.

As many as 2,000 water purification plants are proposed to be installed during 2014-15 in liaison with NGOs, cooperative societies to supply safe drinking water to quality affected and problematic habitations, Patil said.
He said there were 5,9753 rural habitations in the state and at least one drinking water source had been provided to all these habitations.
As many as 182 multi-village schemes have been approved considering river, tank, reservoir and other surface water sources in which 1,275 habitations are proposed to be covered for supply of potable water, Patil said. For the remaining 58,478 habitations, it was being done through hand pump borewells open wells, he added.