Villagers of Gollapalli in Alasandapuram panchayat near Thimmampet have been protesting against three packaged drinking water units in the village. The villagers are demanding that the factories should be shut down as they have been extracting groundwater for several years, resulting in acute scarcity.
The people of the village have been up in arms against the units since April 19 when they started to demand that water tankers should not ply on the village roads. While revenue officials assured them that steps would be taken, the movement of the vehicles had slowed down, said a villager. “However, the vehicles started to ply to and from the factories on Saturday. A section of villagers threw stones at lorries and held the drivers for sometime. Officials rushed to pacify the protesters and promised action,” he added.
He pointed out that Mannar, a tributary of Palar, originated near Gollapalli village in Vaniyambadi taluk. “The three factories have been extracting groundwater for more than 15 years. They have sunk at least 15 to 17 borewells, and transport water in nearly 150 lorries every day, including at night.
They use 25 HP motors to draw water and have sunk borewells for nearly 1,500-foot deep,” he said. The water is supplied to various areas, including Chittoor, Hosur, and Tiruvannamalai.
As a result, groundwater level has dwindled in the village over the years, he said and added: “Several years ago, we had water in our wells that was sufficient for us. Now, the water has dried up. Our mangroves and palm trees have withered without water. There is no water for agricultural activities, and agriculture is seeing a slow death in our village.”
The people of the village said there was acute scarcity of water for drinking purpose and many of them were forced to purchase water.
An official of Vaniyambadi taluk said they had asked the management of the factories to produce documents, including licence for extracting water.
