Kerala is likely to experience severe drought this year due to a 32.7 per cent deficit rainfall during the south-west monsoon, Water Resources Minister Mathew T. Thomas said on Friday. He was replying to a calling attention to the need to take preparatory measures to tackle the drinking water scarcity the State is likely to face.
There had been an average reduction of 22 percent water in the State’s dams when compared to the water storage on September 30 last year, he said.
A high-level meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 13, he said. “The priority is to ensure drinking water.” There was a plan to set up kiosks to distribute drinking water. There were 40,000 private temple ponds in the State.
In the first phase, the government would rejuvenate 10,000 ponds, he said. To improve the efficiency of the Kerala Water Authority, damaged pipelines across the State would be replaced.
There had been an average reduction of 22 percent water in the State’s dams when compared to the water storage on September 30 last year, he said.
A high-level meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on October 13, he said. “The priority is to ensure drinking water.” There was a plan to set up kiosks to distribute drinking water. There were 40,000 private temple ponds in the State.
In the first phase, the government would rejuvenate 10,000 ponds, he said. To improve the efficiency of the Kerala Water Authority, damaged pipelines across the State would be replaced.