Udupi : Pramod Madhwaraj, MLA, said on Friday that 16 out of the 18 gram panchayats (GPs) in Udupi Assembly constituency had been covered under two projects of the multi-village drinking water supply scheme.

He was chairing a meeting of panchayat development officers and other officials on tackling water scarcity in rural areas, here.

Mr. Madhwaraj said that the surveyors would visit the villages from Monday. It was essential that the PDOs and the engineers accompanied them and gave them a clear picture of the water requirement in their villages. Although the scheme provided for supply of drinking water from nearby rivers and rivulets, the gram panchayats should keep the traditional sources of water supply in their areas alive too.

If for any reason, water could not be supplied from the scheme, then the gram panchayats could always fall back on the traditional sources. Already an amount of Rs. 40 lakh had been provided to the affected gram pancahayats in the constituency so that they could supply water through tankers in the parched areas. The officials of the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company had been directed to provide uninterrupted power supply to the drinking water plants.

Any disruption in power supply to the water plants would disrupt water supply in these areas, Mr. Madhwaraj said. He directed the PDOs to take the help of police if some individuals were objecting to striking borewells near their houses.

The PDOs of Tenkanidiyur, Kokkarne and Harady informed the meeting about the quantity of water that they had provided through water tankers to areas affecting water scarcity.