Water woes in Nalgonda villages worsen as summer peaks

Nalgonda: Lack of safe drinking water has affected the majority of villages in the district, this summer. The deficit rainfall recorded in the district has resulted in depletion of groundwater levels and drying up of tanks caused severe drinking water scarcity. Out of total 59 mandals in the district, average rainfall recorded in 42 mandals during June 2014-March 2015 is 42 per cent less than the normal rainfall.

• 42 mandals in district record below normal rainfall
• Depleting groundwater level causes concern among villagers
• Water is supplied once in a month in some villages
• Water plants mushroomed all over Suryapet
• Poor people forced to buy water

In 10 mandals, the situation was worst as rainfall is over 60 per cent less than the normal. In 12 mandals including Chityal, Shaligowraram, Narayanapuram, Mothe, Tirumalgiri, Choutuppal, Yadagirigutta, Chinthapally, Jajireddygidem, Nadigudem, Valigonda and Kanagal, deficit rainfall is more than 50 per cent and drinking water shortage is biggest problem to the people of the mandals in the summer season.

The groundwater levels also depleted by 3.9 feet during the last 12 months. It might sound unbelievable, but the fact remains that in some villages like Arvapally, drinking water is supplied just once in a month. The people of these villages had to trek nearly a kilometre distance from their homes everyday to fetch a pot of drinking water from the wells in agriculture fields, which is considered unsafe for drinking.

The Aitipamula cheruvu (tank) got dried up, through which drinking water used to be supplied to 13 villages in Nakrekal mandal. The people of these villages were facing acute drinking water scarcity and forced to buy drinking water by paying Rs 1 per litre. As the Musi project has almost become dried up, the drinking water shortage has further increased in Suryapet municipality, which is second populous town in the district having more than one lakh population. To cash-in on the unfavourable situation, nearly 100 water plants have come up in and around Suryapet. According to a rough estimate, the water plant owners were making nearly Rs 1 crore business in the town.

In Jajireddygudem village of Thungathurthy constituency, which is closer to merging spot of Musi and Bikkeru and had 10,000 population, the Gram Panchayat is running water plant on its own and charging Rs 2 for each 20 litres water can. But, the facility is strictly to the local people only. Speaking to The Hans India, a villager of Jajireddygudem, Siga Ramachander said that as the open well is dried up, drawing water from a well dug in Musi is only the resource available for drinking water supply in the village. But, we had no other option to purchase the drinking water since well water is found contaminated due to various reasons.

Palem villagers in Nakrekal constituency, which is located just 6 km from Musi project, are suffering due to acute drinking water problem. The supply of drinking water in the village is once in two days, but inadequate for villagers, since water level in borewell have depleted. Talking about water scarcity, a lecturer of a private college Nomula Saidulu felt that there are state-level political leaders from the village, but no one had sincerity to highlight the drinking water issue issue. At this juncture, the Rural Water Supply department is still busy spending time in drawing up an action plan to supply drinking water in these villages through tankers and by hiring private bore wells.

By Pillalamarri Srinivas