Udupi: District In-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj said that drinking water crisis should be considered seriously and necessary steps should be taken to address the issue at the earliest.

Speaking at the quarterly progress review meeting of the Karnataka Development Programme here on Wednesday, the minister said that action should be taken on the report pertaining to integrated water plans and a special meeting should be held for the purpose.

He said the Varahi Irrigation Project, if planned properly, would be a solution for the water crisis in many parts of the district. He instructed the officials concerned to conduct spot inspection and work on the plans.

MLCs Kota Srinivas Poojary and Prathapchandra Shetty said that the district won’t face any water crisis if Varahi project was properly implemented. Besides, water from the project can also be used for drinking purpose since there was not much land to be irrigated by the said project.

District in-charge secretary Maheshwar Rao instructed the officials concerned to immediately submit the proposals on agriculture and drinking water. He also ordered the officials to resubmit the proposal pertaining to the reimbursement of the medical expenses for Koraga community people.

Out of annual target for construction of 3,638 houses, the work on 1,947 houses has been completed in the district while construction for 1,691 houses is yet to be started.

As many as 774 houses have been allotted to Karkala taluk, 1,547 houses to Kundapur and 1,317 houses to Udupi. The district in-charge secretary instructed the officials to complete the work within the prescribed period.

The minister directed the police department to lay emphasis on safety measures to be adopted at the national highway. He said that the licence of private buses should be cancelled if they do not ply on the route mentioned in their permit. The KSRTC buses can be operated on such routes, he opined.

He also directed the officials to provide information to the beneficiaries who construct the houses under Mathsyashraya Yojane.

The issues regarding title deeds, 94 C, 94 CC, rifle licences, NoC from Mescom, amendments in RTC among others were discussed at the meeting.