Berhampur, April 3: Councillors of the municipal corporation are seeking a permanent solution to the drinking water supply problem in their respective wards.

At a meeting between the executive engineer of the public health engineering department (PHED) Sitaram Panda on Saturday, the latter had a tough time tackling questions from the councillors.

Ashok Kumar Shukla, councillor of ward No. 3 said most people staying in his ward had been deprived of consistent drinking water supply even during the rainy and winter season for the past 20 years. " with great difficulty. The pipeline from Dakhinpur project passes through my ward but the people are still deprived of water<>," he said.

Surendra Kumar Maharana, the councillor of ward No. 31, said he would focus on water supply constraints in three areas of his ward. He said would discuss the matter with the executive engineer on Monday. "These areas face perennial water scarcity and something needs to be done," said Maharana.

Panda sought the co-operation of the people's representatives to streamline water supply system in the city. "We are now getting 46MLD (million litres per day) water from Dakhinpur reservoir, Rushikulya joint water supply scheme and other deep borewells. We get 8MLD less than the present demand of 54MLD," said Panda.

"There are 1,277 borewells and 2,004 public stand post taps in Berhampur. Digging of 14 more deep borewells are on the cards. We expect a supply of 80 lakh litres of water a day after completion of the borewells. Besides, a 1,000 litre storage tank will be supplied to each of the 40 wards. These tanks will be regularly filled with water," Panda said.

The foundation stone for the Rs 490 crore project to draw water from Janibili diversion weir, around 47km, away, through underground pipelines was laid by the chief minister Naveen Patnaik in 2013. When complete#, it will provide 200MLD water to Berhampur city, a source said.