Due to prolonged dryspell and overuse of the precious water, the groundwater level in the drought-hit Prakasam district has fallen by 2.45 metre to 18.23 metres during March this year.
Giddalur mandal in western Prakasam is the worst-affected with the groundwater level dipping by an alarming 20.39 metre to 62.64 metre last month, Groundwater Department Deputy Director M. Nagamalleswara Rao reveals in a conversation with The Hindu ahead of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's visit to the district to review, among other things, his pet ‘Neeru Chettu’ programme to arrest the present trend and drought-proof the district.
The groundwater level in Daddavada village in Kumarolu mandal, adopted by Ongole MP Y.V. Subba Reddy under the Prime Minister’s Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY), is the lowest in the district at 64.97 metre this March as against 59.13 metre last March. It is not just the drought for consecutive years that has contributed to the disturbing dip in groundwater. The overexploitation of the scarce resource is responsible for the sorry state of affairs, he explains. Moreover, the district, which forms part of Krishna Western Delta as also Nagarjunasagar command area, received meagre water from Nagarjunasagar Reservoir in one year in the wake of dwindling inflows from the catchment areas in the upper riparian States of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
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The ban on sinking of borewells now in force in 104 over-exploited villages in 10 mandals in western Prakasam would be reviewed shortly in tune with the State government’s policy to ensure an ideal groundwater level of 8 metre before the rainy season and 3 metre after rains, he adds. Taking note of the shocking dip in groundwater levels, especially in western Prakasam district, Mr. Subba Reddy maintains that early completion of the Veligonda project to draw floodwaters from river Krishna from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir, will alone provide a permanent solution to the drinking water problem in Prakasam district, where fluoride content is a high 5 ppm in 14 mandals.
The other worst-affected mandals in the district are Racherla (50.53 M), Tarlapadu (47.92 M), Komarolu (46.l2 M), Markapur (44.27 M), Pullalcheruvu(38.69 M), Bestavaripeta (34.44 M), Yerragondapalem (32.51 M), Dornala (32.25 M) and Pedaraveed (28.14 M).
On the other hand, the groundwater-level is a healthy 2.10 metre each in Kandukur and Singarayakonda and 2.41 in Karamchedu. It is relatively better between 3 metre and 8 metre in Kothapatnam (2.41 M), Parchur (3.24 M), N.G.Padu (3.64 M), Ulavapadu (3.86 M), Chirala (4.03 M), Lingasamudram (4.20M), Santamagaluru (4.24 M), Vetapalem (4.40M), Chinnaganjam (4.70M), Ongole (5.08 M), Martur (6.07M), Pamur (6.19M), Maddipadu (6.20M), Yeddanapudi (6.27 M), Kurichedu (6.37M), Addanki (6.50M), Jarugumalli (6.89M), Tangutur (6.89 M), Marripudi (6.96M), Ponnaluru (7.41 M), Inkollu (7.53 M), J.Pangaluru (7.53 M) and Ballikurava (7.74 M), according to the piezometer readings obtained from across the district.
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