The muddy water in Godavari may be a reason for the lakhs of devotees coming to Basar to feel unhappy, but they are sort of being compensated through supply of the holy water which is treated, purified and made completely fit for quenching their thirst. Yes, the Rural Water Supply (RWS) Department in Adilabad has woven a success story at Basar and other pushkar centres in the distirct as it has kept up a steady flow of drinking water and ensuring that it is potable.
“We have set up as many as 34 Reverse Osmosis plants at all pushkar ghats in the district, four of them being in Basar and three at Soan. Besides, chlorinated water from Godavari is also being supplied to pilgrims round the clock,” summed up a beaming RWS Superintending Engineer B. Indrasen as he talks of the efforts of the government including continuous monitoring of the safety aspect through the water testing laboratory.
The success of supply of purified drinking water free of cost to the devotees can be measured from the fact that there is practically no sale of bottled drinking water at any of the centres. Traders at Basar alone stand to lose a few crores of rupees on this account.
“I was selling each bottle for Rs. 25 even before the start of Pushkaralu. Now the price has been reduced to Rs. 15 to attract customers but they are collecting their fill from the taps,” rued Geete Kamalakar who runs a temporary vend close to bathing ghat number 12, the most busy of the ghats at Basar.
The RWS is supplying about 15 lakh litres of safe drinking water everyday to Basar, five lakh litres of which is drawn from Yamcha drinking water scheme on the opposite banks of river Godavari in Nizamabad district. For the purpose of quenching the thirst of devotees, the department has set up 250 taps which can be easily accessed.
The government has spent nearly Rs. 90 lakh on the RO plants to supply potable water to pilgrims. “This is one investment of which not a paisa has gone waste,” claims an official.
