Drinking water supply in Adoni town, especially in the areas at the far end, has been severely affected in contrast to the rest of the district. The people of the Sri Krishnadevaraya (SKD) colony, Karavanpet, Minority colony, and Baharpet have been complaining that water supply has been reduced to once a week.
A resident of Karavanpet L. Saifullah said that drinking water supplied by the municipality arrives once in four to six days. Khader Basha, a resident of Baharpet, also narrated the same plight and added that the reason behind the irregular supply was the dilapidated pipelines, which are due for repair or replacement.
The Municipal Commissioner of Adoni, G. Raghunath Reddy, told The Hindu that works on renovating the water distribution network were apace.
Diversion
“The works should be over within 10 to 15 days, and water supply will return to normal,” said Mr Reddy. Three new overhead water tanks were being built in order to tackle distribution issues.
Special care was being taken to supply water to Muslim-dominated areas, to avoid inconvenience during the month of Ramzan, he said.
Adding to the lack of proper distribution channels, water that is meant to reach colonies by tankers is being diverted to mineral water shops, alleged U.G. Srinivasulu, a human rights activist from the town.
“The mineral water shops pay ₹800 for a 4000-litre tanker and then sell the water at ₹20 per 25 litres. Due to the diversion of water, people are forced to go to these shops to buy it instead of having a free supply,” he alleged. For every tanker purchased, a mineral water shop makes 300% profit, he added.
Speaking on the issue, the Municipal Commissioner said that strict action was being taken against water tanker drivers to prevent diversion of water. “There have only been a few stray issues reported in the town, and we are keeping a vigil on it,” said Mr. Reddy.
Enough storage
The water requirement of the town is 20 million litres (ML) per day, and the summer storage tank (SST) is currently almost full, holding 2,950 ML of its total capacity 3,110 ML.
Municipal officers said that the storage was enough to supply the town for the next three months.
If the issues of distribution and diversion are resolved, the town will have uninterrupted supply of water to tide over the summer.
Published - May 08, 2019 10:52 pm IST
