Nearly 4, 000 villages in the tail-end parts of Chittoor district are reeling under acute shortage of drinking water. It has become difficult to feed cattle as fodder too is in short supply.
More than 20 mandals in West Chittoor were the worst hit. To deal with the situation, the district administration had deployed 80% of the water tankers there, while the rest were catering to eastern mandals, said Rural Water Works (RWS) Superintending Engineer G. Venu.
Though the RWS department had pressed hundreds of water tankers into service, several hamlets were out of their coverage; women bear the brunt and have to trek long distances to fetch water. As an alternative, villagers are relying on private tankers that cost around ₹500 per supply.
On Monday, in many parts of the district, the temperature hovered between 41°C and 43°C, and it was coupled with heatwave, forcing people to stay indoors. Several people are demanding that tankers should cater to them either in mornings or evenings, instead of noons.
Mr. Venu said there was no respite in the demand for water in rural pockets. “We are sending tankers to every part of the district. In addition, we have tied up with farmers to supply water to rural areas on a payment basis. We are ready to increase the number of water tankers whenever necessary,” he said.
Apart from the villages, Chittoor,Nagari, Puttur, Punganur and Madanapalle are facing severe drinking water shortage, with a plummeting of groundwater table.
Mr. Venu said areas within the Tirupati Municipal Corporation and the Srikalahasti Municipality were safe from water shortage this season.
