Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, June 6: District Development Commissioner, Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary today convened a meeting to review drought management measures and mechanism put in place for ensuring equitable water supply and augmenting the availability of potable drinking water in the district.
Superintending Engineer Rafiq Ahmed Khan, CPO A H Choudhary, Exen PHE Rajouri Nissar Khan, Exen PHE Nowshera O P Atri, Exen Mechanical, Exen Irrigation & Flood Control, Staff Officer Mohammad Raiyaz AEEs, AEs and JEs of all the divisions attended the meeting.
On the occasion, the DDC released an amount of Rs 25 lakh to augment pumping machinery in view of the shortage of same expressed by the department, out of which amount of Rs 15 lakh was earmarked for Rajouri division and Rs 10 lakh for Nowshera.
It was given out that more than 50 hand pumps have been installed in water-scarce areas by the district administration and further installation has been taken up with the department.
The DDC also approved the hiring of 12 water tankers as well 40 trolleys for serving the critical areas under Drought Action Plan. It is pertinent to mention here that 4 tankers in Rajouri division, 9 tankers in Nowshera and 20 trolleys in Nowshera division covering various areas of Nowshera, Kalakote and Sunderbani have already been deployed. The department will be supplying 25,000 litres of water through mobile tankers every day till drought period is over.
The meeting also deliberated upon the illegal connections installed on raising mains and supply lines. It was decided that line-wise a calendar will be notified for removal of all illegal connections with police assistance and stringent action will be taken in such cases. The issue of extraction near water sources and dug wells were also discussed.
The field officers were directed to ensure constant communication with public and timely redressal of issues in view of natural water scarcity. The helplines established at the divisional and sub-divisional level were also reviewed and it was decided that 10 officials will be deployed with PHE from NYC to augment the control rooms.
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