Parched throats seek drinking water

Adilabad: The Agency and remote villages in the district are reeling under acute drinking water shortage. The borewells have gone dry. If the condition is so bad in February, the villagers dread to think of what lies ahead for them during the summer. The villagers are getting up in the wee hours to get water from ditches dug on stream beds. They even travel long distances on bullock carts to fetch water for drinking purposes.

Residents of Chincholi dug a ditch on the bed of a stream which is just two km away from the village. There are 374 habitats like Chincholi in the district. Speaking to The Hans India on Friday, the villagers poured out their woes. They said that if they stay back to fill water from the ditches, they have to forego their daily wages on that particular day. The water crisis deepened in the district with each passing day and women travelling long distances armed with pitchers have become a common sight in the district.

To get a pitcher of water, villagers are trekking at least one km. Even drinking the muddy water gathered from ditches they are getting afflicted with diseases. One of the villagers, Posamma said that the government officials who were supposed to supply drinking water were turning a blind eye to the pathetic situation in spite of people contracting diseases after consuming muddy water. The woes of people in remote villages of Agency areas Narnoor, Kerameri, Asifabad and Utnoor to get a pail of water are unlimited.

A resident of Durmaram in Lokeswaram mandal of the district is on a fast-unto-death seeking drinking water supply. But, the officials failed to supply drinking water to the village. Though the government had allocated Rs 10 crore to supply drinking water to remote areas, water supply is still a distant dream. The women say that the tanks meant for drinking water storage are not yet completed. Though there are some water storage tanks, there is no water in them.

Some of the tanks are not fitted with pipeline connection. Therefore, the women are facing hardships for want of drinking water in spite of having water tanks. The government sanctioned Rs 62 lakh to undertake repairs to bore wells, but the works are progressing at a snail’s pace. The tribals demand that it is high-time the officials responded and solved their drinking water woes. Though annually crores of rupees are being spent to quench the thirst of people, there seems to be no mitigation for their woes.

The officials are allegedly siphoning off the funds to fulfill their selfish goals. The people have been demanding the State government to find a permanent solution to the drinking water problem.