Officials are only too familiar with Latur’s water facts. The city is dependent on just one major water source Manjra Dam. . “Even after drilling up to 500 feet, it’s hard to find water,” said city mayor Shaikh Akhtar Mistry , blaming the civic chief for granting the permissions. Of the 650 borewells in Latur, only 450 were working. He also said that 48 tankers are supplying drinking water to the city.
“I have sought a clarification from the municipal commissioner for issuing building permissions. The district collector had already instructed the civic body not to issue fresh permissions given the water scarcity,“ he said.
When contacted, municipal commissioner Sudhakar Telang put the onus on the civic body’s town planning department for the approvals.While admitting that the permissions should not have been given, he said, “We have issued show cause notices to the town planning staff concerned. We are waiting for their reply to take appropriate action.“
Apart from civic body’s borewells, a large number of residents have dug borewells, further draining the available underground water. The mayor said they are planning to launch a drive to convince people to go for rainwater harvesting.
Source : TOI
