Deputy Commissioner P. Manivannan said on Wednesday that water supply in the city will improve by July when works pertaining to remodelling of the distribution network will be completed.
He was reviewing various projects taken up under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the city.
Mr. Manivannan said five overhead tanks being constructed to ramp up the distribution network would be ready by July. The work on five other overhead tanks has been completed.
Pleading for patience in view of the long gestation period of the JNNURM works, he refuted claims that the projects were behind schedule.
However, Mayor Purushottam criticised the functioning of Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Ltd. (JUSCO), which is entrusted with drinking water supply in the city, and pointed out that he was at the receiving end of the public ire in his ward. The Deputy Commissioner's attention was also drawn to the fact that the call centre set up to receive public complaints with regard to water supply was not functioning. Following which, the JUSCO representatives present in the meeting received a dressing down.
Peeved by the apparent indifferent attitude of the JUSCO staff, the Deputy Commissioner said he would write to their higher ups in the Tata group of which JUSCO is a constituent.
Kabini scheme
The officials furnished a report on the progress of the work on the Kabini drinking water scheme. The Executive Engineer of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board said a delegation of elected representatives would be taken for a spot visit on Friday. Meanwhile, the officials pointed out that Rs. 341.02 crore had been spent on implementing JNNURM projects in the city as on March 31.
A sum of Rs. 65.56 crore was being spent on remodelling the water distribution network, automation of the water supply system and providing integrated management system for Mysore.
Remodelling of the distribution network also entails construction of 25 overhead tanks, of which work on five have been completed while hydraulic testing for three tanks at J.P. Nagar, Nanjmalige and T.K. Layout was in progress and they would be ready by July.
