Concerns over drinking water in Kalaburagi led Allamprabhu Patil,MLA for Kalaburagi South,to visit Saradagi bridge-cum-barrage Saturday . With city officials like Mayor Varsha Rajeev Jane and Deputy Mayor Tripti Lakhe,Patil checked on measures ensuring steady water supply amid delayed southwest monsoon.
During his inspection,Patil announced state government released 0.5 TMC ft. from Narayanpur reservoir to ease the crisis worsened by scant rainfall. This water should hit Saradagi barrage by Sunday or Monday,stabilizing city's supply .
Kalaburagi deals with water shortages every summer,mainly due to losses before Narayanpur water reaches city . To address this long-term,government has ₹1,850 crore plan for direct pipeline from Narayanpur to Saradagi. Patil sees it as sustainable fix for city's needs.
Modernizing Saradagi barrage is underway. Patil noted over 900 stop-log gates there — significant upgrades are in progress . Of 600 gates over 41 years old,150 repaired,rest being replaced. Desilting operations aim to boost storage and quality,with nearly ₹5 crore set aside .
MLA detailed ongoing 24x7 water supply project,managed by Larsen & Toubro,with 700 km of pipelines laid under Scheme-A. Another 500 km planned under Scheme-B to expand network citywide. For immediate shortages,Patil told officials to send ~200 tankers to Kalaburagi South and North constituencies .
City Corporation Commissioner Avinash Shinde said city has enough reserves for next eight to ten days. He expects recent release from Narayanpur to help more,noting monsoon might soon pick up.
Shinde stressed need to prevent sewage in drinking pipelines,urging utility departments to finish underground work before road-laying to avoid disruptions . Corporation plans to drill 60-70 borewells in water-scarce areas,using grants from Fifteenth Finance Commission under National Municipal Performance Challenge.
Officials at inspection included R.P. Jadhav,Superintending Engineer of KUIDFC,and Rajashekhar Sajjanshetty,Assistant Executive Engineer of Minor Irrigation Department,who discussed improving water supply in Kalaburagi…
