Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-01-17

Management of the Water Supply Facilities during the Drought situation

- The drought situation prevailing in the Island, at present, has caused and adverse effect on the small community water systems in the rural areas. Due to the dry climatic conditions, the water supply capacity of the small water supply sources have been reduced with an anticipated increase in the demand for water. As such, the proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, the Minister of City Planning and Water Supply, to expand the water supply activities carried out by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board by deploying water bowsers, to construct 400 hand pump wells and to repair and rehabilitate the existing 1,000 public hand-pump fitted in deep wells located within the drought prone rural areas, to construct 200 hand pump wells in the remote villages and to create awareness among the public of the need to water economically and to facilitate coordination activities with the relevant authorities and the institutions for the purpose of taking expeditious action at instances when the water supply is suddenly hampered, was approved by the Cabinet.