The town, steeped in history and a cradle of ancient civilisation, may wear the heritage tag proudly on its stone plaques, but for many residents, potable water is still a distant dream.
Located close to the 125-foot-high statue of the Buddha on the banks of river is a colony named after former President Zail Singh. Water is supplied to the supplied to the colony, inhabited by members of the Scheduled Castes, once in two or even three days, which the people pump into a small well. But for drinking water, people are forced to buy bubble top water cans from local vendors.
“We are not sure of the water supply and so we store it in small cement pits. Our children are forced to drink raw water and some of them have contracted viral fevers. We are paying ₹10 per can and as there is no door delivery, our men fetch them on their motorcycles,’’ said Shanthi, a resident of the colony.
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The situation is no different in Dharanikota with a population of about 5, 000. Here, water is drawn from River Krishna, but it is not treated as two filtration beds each with a capacity of 78,500 litres have become defunct.
“We have earmarked ₹6 lakh for repairs but the village panchayat could not take up the work. We have called for fresh tenders and hope to complete the work, ‘’ said Assistant Engineer, Rural Water Supply, Siva Rama Krishna.
Funds unutilised
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Sarpanch Bethapudi Yellamanda said that though the village got ₹50 lakh under Finance Commission grants, a major chunk of it has not been utilised.
Dharanikota lies to the East of Amaravathi and was the capital during the reign of Raja Vasireddy Venkatadrinaidu. The town has been included in the list of 12 cities selected across the country for the implementation of the National Heritage City Development and Augumentation Yojana (HRIDAY) and also is listed among the pilgrimage centres under Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD).
Amaravathi secured grants to the tune of ₹55.20 crore under the two schemes, but apart from few beautification works at the temple and at the statue of Dhayna Buddha, development is not visible in the town which still wears a dusty look.