A central team of senior officers of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation led by the Secretary Parameswaran Iyer visited the State of Karnataka and met Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Mr HK Patil.
The issue of drought, water crisis and sanitation came up for discussion. The Central team also met the Chief Secretary and Additional Chief Secretary of the State. The Chief Secretary and Secretary also spoke to the District Collectors of the State via video conference.
The Secretary assured the senior officials of the center’s support to combat drought situation prevailing in parts of the State. A detailed discussion was held around possible drought management techniques and technologies, especially those dealing with water recharge and conservation.
A key highlight of the meeting was a presentation made by a team of water experts from Latur district with discussions shedding light on the “Shirpur Pattern” of watershed work successful in many parts of Maharashtra.
Efforts are being made to replicate and scale up this technique, and a pilot of the technique being planned in North Karnataka to help drinking water situation improve in the region.
In the review meeting with Karnataka District Collectors on sanitation, a commitment was made by the officers to make 7 districts of Karnataka Open Defecation Free (ODF) in 2016-17. Of these, 4 districts will be made ODF by October 2nd, 2016 – the second anniversary of the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission.