Salem Collector asks officials to ensure regular drinking water supply to people

Collector R. Brindha Devi has asked officials of various departments to ensure regular drinking water supply to the people during summer and formed a WhatsApp group comprising officials for coordination. She has also asked people to use the available water judiciously.

Chairing a review meeting with officials at the Collectorate here on Monday, she said intense heat is prevailing and to ensure regular drinking water supply, the district administration is holding a meeting with all the department heads on Mondays at the Collectorate. She said various steps taken in each meeting are reviewed in the next meeting for effective action. Since drinking water requirement is on the rise, discussion on water required for each area was identified. “Officials were asked to identify new water sources and use water sources that remain unutilised,” she said.

Ms. Devi said to coordinate officials of various departments to ensure regular drinking water supply, a WhatsApp group was formed. She also asked people not to use drinking water for plants or crops and asked them to use only for drinking purposes. “Officials should also create awareness among the people on utilising water judiciously,” she added.

The Collector said Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board is implementing 11 combined water supply schemes (CWSS) to benefit four municipalities, 29 town panchayats, and 4,466 village habitations. As much as 192.591 million litres of protected drinking water is supplied to 33.94 lakh people everyday, she said. Also, in the Corporation limits, 130 million litres of drinking water is supplied to 9.66 lakh people through the dedicated water supply scheme and Nangavalli drinking water scheme, she added.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Rural Development Department, administrative sanction has been received for providing 1,37,845 water connections at a cost of ₹149.11 crore of which 1,12,015 connections were given, she said.

Alarmelmangai, Additional Collector (Development), District Rural Development Agency, Prabakaran and Selvaraj, engineers of TWAD Board, Sangamithirai, Assistant Director (Panchayats), Sekar, executive engineer, District Rural Development Agency, Mohan, city health officer, and officials took part in the meeting.