Drought compels Kerala to keep vigil on water resources

In an effort to curb the impact of upcoming drought government has asked Kerala police force to keep vigil of freshwater resources used for drinking water purpose in the state. The move comes in the wake of the report of India Meteorological Department (IMD) that the state will not witness significant rainfall till the second week of March. 
 

The ground water level has come down, and hilly areas are facing drinking water shortage. Several wells have dried up and water level in lakes reduced. The Revenue Department has also warned of acute drinking water scarcity this year. 
 

Palakkad Collector has already issued directions to police authorities to keep the reservoirs under the scanner. The move was following recommendations from Water Authority that ground water consumption must be reduced by 75%. 
 

The report of the Authority states that drinking water sources are widely used for the agricultural and industrial purpose. Industries are extracting groundwater above permitted limit while State Disaster Management Authority has proposed 75% cut in extraction. It was also found that some companies are extracting water through bore wells and Water Authority has warned that this will largely affect the availability of drinking water. 
 

Storage of water in reservoirs has reduced to 45% of total capacity owing to shortage of rains. Kerala witnessed 99% shortage in rains during monsoon last year. 
 

Also read: Kerala imposes mandatory curbs on water use as drought intensifies
 

IMD has also warned that summer rains in Kerala will be affected by frequent cyclones in Bay of Bengal and Pacific Ocean. The phenomenon had resulted in a shortage of rainfall during northeast monsoon. 
 

The government has also initiated measures to introduce thanneer pandal projects and camps to ensure availability of drinking water in areas of water shortage. As many as 11, 210 thanneer pandals will be installed and GPS enabled centres will observe distribution of water using tanker lorries.
 

The government also plans to initiate measures to start camp with the support of Animal Welfare Department to ensure food and water to cattle during drought.  

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