With a view to ensuring proper drinking water supply in the summer season, PHE department has repaired 40,636 hand pumps during the lockdown period in last one and half months. Besides, riser pumps measuring 34,023 meter have been added to 6902 hand pumps in areas where water table has gone down to restart them.
Ground water table in 94 habitations has gone down. However, in view of availability of drinking water in tube wells, single phase motor pumps have been installed on them to supply drinking water to the rural populace.
During the period new tube wells have been sunk and hand pumps installed in 134 habitations and 60 damaged hand pump platforms have been reconstructed.
Engineer-in Chief SS Sankule informed that there are 16,253 piped water schemes of which 14,891 are functional in the state. Out of 186 defunct piped water scheme drinking water is being made available at the sources.
The department has re-started 167 defunct piped water schemes with the cooperation of local gram pnchayats. New sources have been created in 41 defunct schemes following failure of their sources. Thus, 208 piped water schemes have been restarted.
At present there are 5 lakh 52 thousand 825 hand pumps under PHE department in rural areas of the state. Drinking water is being supplied through 5 lakh 38 thousand 10 hand pumps.
Out of defunct hand pumps 3,515 are repairable and these are being repaired on priority. Besides, water level of 9,096 hand pumps has gone too down and these will restart in rainy season.
Sankul informed that habitations likely to face drinking water in summer season have been identified. There are 13,393 habitations with a population of 87 lakh 51 thousand 281 habitations facing drinking water problem.