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Puducherry Chief Minister N Rangasamy on Friday said a comprehensive drinking water supply project would be launched in the Union Territory soon to ease the current woes faced by residents. Replying to a question by independent member G Nehru in the territorial Assembly during question hour, the Chief Minister said the government would also drill borewells in rural areas and bring water to urban localities to tackle the crisis. As much as Rs 500 crore would be spent to implement the comprehensive drinking water supply scheme in Puducherry, he added. Members across parties brought to the notice of the government the hardships faced by residents in getting safe and uninterrupted water supply. Nehru said there have been instances of people getting poor quality water, which caused skin diseases and even cancer. He appealed to the Chief Minister to initiate immediate steps to provide uninterrupted, clean and safe water to Puducherry's residents. PWD Minister K Lakshminarayanan said the
Rajasthan will spend Rs 362.13 crore to provide drinking water in 367 villages of Udaipur district. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved the financial proposal for the project that will enable drinking water supply to these villages from the Som-Kamala-Amba dam, according to a statement issued on Friday. The financial approval was given in compliance with Gehlot's announcement in the 2023-24 Budget.
Noting that safe drinking water provision at every Odisha home has long been his dream, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the Drink From Tap' project in 19 cities and towns of the state. Earlier, the facility was unveiled in Puri and Gopalpur. Under the project, drinking water will be supplied round the clock through taps installed in households. Patnaik said at least 5.55 lakh people in the 19 cities and the towns would benefit from the project. Describing water as precious to all, he appealed to people to not waste even a single drop. Places where the project was launched on Wednesday included Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sundargarh, Biramitrapur, Rajgangpur, Keonjhar and some parts in Bhubaneswar.
There are 26,126 rural habitations with contaminants in drinking water sources, the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Monday. Responding to a question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Prahlad Singh Patel cited data showing 26,279 rural habitations were identified to have contaminants in water sources as of April 1 this year. The corresponding number for both April 1 last year and April 1, 2020 was 36,054, the data showed. As of July 20, 2022, there are 26,126 rural habitations with contaminants in drinking water sources, it said. Responding to another question, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu said fluoride beyond permissible limits has been encountered in certain isolated pockets (point source) of 408 districts in 26 states and Union territories, and arsenic in certain isolated pockets (point source) of 209 districts in 25 states and UTs.
More than five billion people globally are expected to face a shortage of water by 2050, a United Nations (UN) agency report has warned.The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), on Tuesday, said that climate change increases the global risk of water-related hazards like floods and droughts, and the number of people affected by water scarcity is also expected to soar."According to figures cited in the report, 3.6 billion people had inadequate access to water at least one month per year in 2018. By 2050, this is expected to rise to more than five billion," the report titled "The State of Climate Services 2021: Water" said.It further highlighted the need for urgent action to improve cooperative water management, embrace integrated water and climate policies and scale up investment in this precious commodity which underpins all the international goals on sustainable development, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction."Increasing temperatures are resulting in global and ..