Several colonies and residential areas in the district headquarters town and its outskirts have been in the grip of severe water crisis in the wake of monsoon failure for two consecutive years. The crisis has worsened with almost all the hand pumps going dry.
Though the civic body and district administration have been struggling to mitigate the problem, they could only succeed to a small extent. About 40 tankers engaged by the municipal corporation, besides seven pressed into service by social service organisations and charity homes, each making seven trips a day, are only partially meeting the demand, which is increasing by the day.
Severe crisis is found in Nagaram, Chandrashekar Colony, Gouthamnagar, Ambedkar Colony, Dubba, Pambodi, Poosalagalli, Gajulpet, Sivajinagar, Pedda Bazar, Malapally, Autonagar, Vengal Rao Nagar, Sanjeevaiah Colony and Yellammagutta. In the areas where roads are narrow, water supply through tankers has come to a halt. In each division, six mini overhead tanks have been built to fill water from tankers.
However, they are not functioning owing to lack of water to fill them. Also, taps have not been fitted to some of the tanks.
When the issue was taken to municipal zonal officers, they expressed helplessness, according to Sabbani Latha, AIDWA District Secretary.
Expressing hope that there would be bountiful rains this year, Mayor Akula Sujatha Srisailam said that the problem would persist for one more month and people should cooperate with the administration as nothing more could be done, given the present condition.
“We are leaving nothing to chance in solving the drinking water problem,” she said.
The district authorities claim that they are providing tap water on every alternate day, complaints to the contrary galore.
“We get tap water for just a few minutes and it’s not enough even for drinking purpose. Sometimes there is no guaranty that we will get water even for those few minutes,” deplores Gangubai, a resident of Subashnagar.
Ali Sagar, filled with water from Nizam Sagar in February, remains the only source for the town till the monsoon begins.
Other sources, Masani-Manchippa tank and Raghunatha tank, have dried up a long ago.
