The worst-ever drought has put the Prakasam district administration in a tight spot to ensure adequate potable water to its 33.97 lakh population, with severe fluoride problem gripping at least 15 mandals of the western parts of the district.
But human beings aren’t the only ones struggling to cope with the most difficult situation.
The prolonged dry spell is forcing wild animals in the Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, the largest reserve in the country with a core area of 1,200 km, more towards Palanka, Palutla, and other places closer to the Krishna in the Nallamalla forest in search of the precious liquid. The water problem has been accentuated by the declining inflow into the major reservoirs in the State, including Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar, from the upper riparian States of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
The Krishna water realised by Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the States where the tiger reserve spreads across the districts of Nalgonda and Mahabubnagar in Telangana, and Prakasam, Kurnool, and Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, was a paltry 65 tmcft last year.
“Our priority during this summer is fire and water management,” observes Markapur Divisional Forest Officer D. Jayachandra Reddy in a conversation with The Hindu .
In all, 79 saucer pits are being filled with water on a weekly basis through seven tankers for the animals to adapt themselves to the situation and prevent their intrusion into fringe villages, he says.
Firebreaks are being created by removing deadwood to prevent spread of any wildfire by the forest personnel manning the 24 base camps, he explains.
Natural water holes in the deep forests are scrapped so that 5-6 inches of water remains stagnant for a week or so for the big cats and other animals to quench their thirst, he says.
Range officers have been provided with laptops to record the drought mitigation activities being monitored with the help of the Global Positioning system (GPS).
Movement of animals
“We have installed 400 high-resolution cameras to track the movement of tigers and other wild animals in the forests,” he adds. Meanwhile, wildlife watchers opine that the forest personnel should be spared of duties related to other departments like distribution of ration so that they concentrate on their primary duty of protecting wildlife.
