Chittoor Collector Orders Urgent Steps to Ensure Safe Drinking Water in Villages

District Collector Sumit Kumar directed Rural Water Supply engineers on Wednesday to start ground-level work using available funds to supply safe drinking water across all village habitations in Chittoor.

Implementation

The administration wants regular field checks and early checks on vulnerable areas to stop water-borne sickness. Officials must make cost estimates between 25 lakh rupees and 30 lakh rupees for each mandal to fix infrastructure. These fixes cover putting in new pipelines, fixing public taps, repairing water networks, and digging new borewells. The Collector stated that special attention will go to SC and ST hamlets, minority areas, and urban slums where water systems are under heavy pressure.

Priority Areas

Officials picked 13 priority mandals including Kuppam, Shanthipuram, Gudupalle, V Kota, Yadamarri, Peddapanjani, Ramakuppam, and Puthalapattu. Strict rules mean storage tanks must be cleaned every 15 days under the direct watch and sign-off of engineers. Panchayat secretaries will face official action notices if they fail in these duties. Welfare hostels will also see mandatory water quality checks and bi-monthly administrative visits to keep students safe.

Context

Access to clean drinking water is a basic public health necessity, especially in rural and underserved areas where water-borne diseases pose a recurring risk. Local district administrations frequently direct targeted infrastructure upgrades and routine maintenance protocols to address these systemic vulnerabilities.