ReliefWeb

TNN | Apr 1, 2019, 12.27 PM IST

DUMKA: Deoghar district administration is finding it tough to arrange funds to cope with the acute crisis of drinking water ahead of summer months. Executive engineers of both Deoghar and Madhupur divisions of the drinking water and sanitation department have asked for urgent funds to the tune of over Rs 12 crores to put in place alternative arrangements of drinking water supply to the households.

But the district administration do not have funds, which has prompted deputy commissioner Rahul Kumar Sinha to send an SOS to the state government seeking funds to roll-out contingent plans before things get worse. Sources said that model code of conduct has made the situation even tougher for district authorities.

“The central government had allotted Rs 33 lakh exclusively for calamity-related expenditure. This money is lying unutilised, but we do not know if we can use it for water supply. I have written to the disaster management department to allocate money for water supply from their funds,” Deoghar DC Rahul Kumar Sinha said. “Simultaneously, we have also requested it to get the Election Commission’s nod so that things don’t get stuck even when the funds arrive,” he added.

Many parts of Deoghar witnessed dismal rainfall last monsoon and were declared drought-affected.