The state water supply and irrigation minister Nitin Patel has claimed that the present government has reduced the number of ferries of water tankers to supply water to the villages. On Wednesday, Patel indicated that it is a paradigm shift in the water supply scenario in the state.
He said, “There is total change in the water supply mechanism in the state. Just 15 years ago, thousands of villages in the state were provided water through tankers. Now, the situation has changed completely. Earlier, there were more than 60,000 ferries of water tankers in a day during the previous governments’ regime.”
However, he did not state that there was no more water supply from tankers. Patel said, “We have been able to reduce the number of tanker ferries from 60,000 to 487 daily. This is because there are 132 villages in the state, which are situated at the remote places where it is difficult to supply water through pipelines. Some of these villages are located on hilly terrain.”
Officials in the state water supply department said, “It is really a paradigm shift, as the majority of the villages in the state, more than 13,000 in number, use surface water for drinking. So, fewer villages are relying on ground water. This has reduced the need for supply of water through the tankers. Now, most of the villages have their own source of water. This has been because of the various projects and schemes of the government.”
