Water from a septic tank is being let out into irrigation canal and the same is being supplied as drinking water after a little treatment. If a farmer needs water for his field, the nearby canal is filled with drain water. It may sound strange. But, it’s true and the practice has been going on for the last two decades in the Konaseema region with or without the knowledge of the public.
Though the officials are aware of it, they express their inability to address the issue.
The water pollution is a perennial problem in Konaseema and now it has assumed alarming proportions. As a result, people of this fertile region are made to drink polluted water. Lack of awareness among farmers, political pressure and negligence on the part of officials have resulted in the situation turning from bad to worse.
The main source for irrigation in East Godavari district is the Godavari. The canal which flows through Central Delta is known as Amalapuram main canal and it first touches Lolla lakula in Konaseema. The Central Delta canal caters to the irrigation and drinking water needs of 19 mandals of the region. It irrigates 1.80 lakh acres of paddy and one lakh acres of crops, including coconut. The canal water is used for drinking purpose after being treated. But at Kothapeta, Ravulapalem, and Amalapuram the major drains are connected to Central Delta main canal.
In Amalapuram, hospital waste, water from restaurants, hotels and households are let out in huge quantities into the main canal.
Important drains in Gandhinagar, Vittanalavaripalem, Abbireddyvari Veedhi are being connected to the main canal.
At places there are outlets from municipal dumping yards and burial grounds.
Dr. Anil, a doctor in Amalapuram, says that water-born diseases are increasing every year due to irrigation canal being polluted as a result of linking it with septic tank water.
Gopinath, Deputy Engineer of Irrigation Department, says that from 2009 to 2014 the irrigation authorities tried to close drains in consultation with farmers, but in vain.
Turbidity levels
Former RDO of Amalapuram P. Sampath Kumar has prepared a report to completely close all the drains that lead to the Central Delta Canal from Lolla Lakula Junction. He has suggested all MPDOs, panchayat officials and village secretaries and municipal officials to check turbidity levels in the water that is being supplied to the public through CPW schemes.
