As the summer heat picks up, civic officials are making all-out efforts to supply drinking water which has turned scarce, particularly in habitations situated on the outskirts.
Residents of these areas have to struggle to fetch water currently being supplied by two municipal tankers.
The reason for their plight is the wastage of water being supplied through a major pipeline running from Mahalakshmamma Chettu to Vaddera Colony. This 1.5 km-long pipeline has developed leakages at several places causing wastage.
As a consequence, water is not reaching the colonies. The pipeline was laid in 1979 and a proposal to replace it with a new one at an estimated cost of Rs. 33 crore is pending for more than two years.
The municipality is not in a position to give money for it due to funds constraint. The pipeline has outlived its utility by two years and it is in desperate need for a new one to take its place.
The town has many smaller pipelines which are also crying for attention. The municipality is running the show by getting minor repairs done with the funds available at its disposal.
A civic official told The Hindu that the town's daily requirement is 10 million litres and all of it is drawn from Nagarjuna Sagar canals up to Kotappakonda from where water is brought through pipelines.
Right now supplying drinking water is not a problem for the municipality but for the difficulty in meeting the requirement of people living on the peripheries.
Water is to be supplied through tankers to Vengala Reddy Colony, Maddhi Nagar, Rahmat Nagar, Vaddera Colony, Dasari Colony, Deichmann Nagar, Mother Teresa Colony and YSR Colony. Steps were taken to arrange more number of tankers in the days ahead.
