K.R.NAGAR (MYSORE DT.), MAY 26. The Karnataka Chief Minister, S. M. Krishna, today appealed to the neighboring riparian States to eschew confrontation and sought their cooperation in resolving disputes affecting drinking water projects amicably.

He was addressing a public rally at K.R.Nagar after inaugurating development works in the taluk. The Chief Minister’s appeal for cooperation was made while referring to the unprecedented drought plaguing the State and uncertainty over the advent ofyear. "We may have disputes on various issues but when it comes to drinking water problem we should resolve it in the spirit of mutual cooperation and through consensus and take a stance which is favourable to the public" Mr. Krishna said and added: "I hope both Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu will consider this seriously."

Mr. Krishna pointed to the water scarcity plaguing the Bagepalli region in Kolar district and said efforts to resolve the problem by harnessing the State’s resources were being opposed by a neighbouring State. The reference was to Andhra Pradesh’s objections over the proposed construction of a barrage over the Chitravati to mitigate the drinking water scarcity in Kolar District.

Mr. Krishna said he could empathize with people living on the other side of the State’s borders and plagued by a similar crisis. He reiterated his appeal for cooperation to sink the differences over issues such as language problem and border disputes. Problems connected with drinking water should not be politicised, he added. Commenting on the existing practice of launching dedicated water supply projects meant exclusively for urban areas, Mr. Krishna said these projects did not include the intermediary villages and human settlements that lay between the water source and the beneficiary centre.

Hence, the Government taken a policy decision not to bypass any village or settlement and made it mandatory to cover all villages aligned along the pipelines between the water source and the beneficiary centre, Mr. Krishna said. He also suggested that the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board (KUWSSB) drop the nomenclature "Urban" and serve all sections of society.

The Government had resolved to provide drinking water facilities to all villages in the State, he added.

The Chief Minister said Karnataka was in the throes of drought for the third consecutive year and this did not augur well for the development of the State. "Already the urban areas in the Cauvery Basin in Karnataka are facing acute water scarcity. The situation is grave, but there is no need to panic as the meteorologists are predicting that the south-west monsoon will set in by the first week of June," he said.

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NEW DELHI, MAY 26. The water crisis in Delhi is more an issue of irrational distribution, unscientific planning and mismanagement rather than availability. While large parts of the city might be facing acute shortage of water for the past several weeks, statistically per capita availability of potable water here is more than the other metros and even many developed countries of the world. "It’s a man-made crisis," says an expert on water is-sues in Delhi.

With Delhi Jal Board treating and distributing 660 MGD (million gallons of water per day) for a population of 1.4 crore, the per capita availability in the Capital is 225 Ipd (litres per day) against Kolkata’s 202 Ipd and Mumbai’s 178 Ipd. Per capita availability of water in Britain is 175 Ipd, while in France and Germany is 150 Ipd and 135 Ipd respectively.

As per the BIS standards, an individual re-quires 140 Ipcd litre per capita per day), including five litres for drinking, five litres for cooking, 45 for bathing, 20 for washing and 40 for toilets.

It is also not that the availability of water has remained constant or declined. In 1951, when Delhi’s population was 17.5 lakhs, the per capital availability of water was merely 109 Ipd, which increased to 131 Ipd in 1961 (when the population was 26.7 lakhs), 193 Ipd in 1971 (population 40.6 lakhs), 184 Ipd in 1981 (population 62.2 lakhs) and 227 Ipd in 1991 (92.7 lakhs).

However, even senior DJB officials, concede the water crisis was mainly because of its irrational distribution which has been due to unscientific planning and very poor management. While, the poorest of the poor and majority of the residents of the Capital sweat out for a drop of water, those staying in posh colonies and VVIP areas are given water for having shower, wash their car and also for kitchen gardens.

For instance, while people living in Delhi Cantonment Board area get 500 Ipcd and the VVIP areas of Lutyen’s Delhi 432 Ipcd. People living in the Walled City get 200 Ipcd and those in South receive 100 Ipcd, which is facing a severe water ! crisis. Though the woes of the people living in the South get noticed, residents of Outer Delhi and Mehrauli are the one who are treated in an in-humane manner. While people living in Outer Delhi, where exists majority of unauthorised col-onies, get 38 Ipcd, those staying in Mehrauli re-ceive just 20 Ipcd. "There is complete I mismanagement and lack of proper planning," t observed a senior DJB official.

Reflecting on its poor planning, most of the water treatment plants are located at a distance from the colonies to which it is supplied, resulting in its illegal tapping and leakages. As many as 40 per cent of the water treated and supplied is lost because of this.

For instance, water to South Delhi homes areas reaches from the Bhagirathi Water Treatment Plant in North East after travelling a distance of about 40 kms. No scientific thought is given before setting up such a plant, as these decisions are influenced by politicians of the area, who do so to influence their voters.

Sans aside for this lopsided planning which has resulted in an artificial water crisis, the DJB needs to be complemented for treating six per cent water more than its overall capacity of 630 MGD, despite the fact that many of its plant are out-dated and are in need of overhaul. For instance, the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant having a capacity of 120 MGD is treating 136 MGD, Hai-derpur (224 MGD against its capacity of 200 MGD), Bhagirathi (122 MGD against its capacity of 100 MGD), Chandrawal (106 MGD against the capacity of 90 MGD).

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