Groundwater levels deplete in 26 mandals of Krishna district
VIJAYAWADA: With mercury levels soaring day-by-day, 26 mandals out of the total 50 mandals in Krishna district are facing acute drinking water crisis due to depletion in groundwater levels when compared to the corresponding period last year. Scanty rainfall and lack of preparedness by the officials concerned to tackle the situation, is putting the public to inconvenience in mid-April.
Based on the readings taken by the Rural Water Supply (RWS) department on Wednesday, several mandals in upland areas such as Musunuru, Chatrai, A Konduru, Reddigudem, Tiruvuru, Chandarlapadu, Bapulapadu, Nandigama, Vissannapeta and Gampalagudem are the worst-affected and people in the villages of respective mandals are relying on water tankers on every alternate day. For instance, the rate of groundwater depletion was 11 feet per annum in G Konduru mandal.
In all other mandals, rate of depletion per annum is less than two to five feet which include Bapulapadu, Ghantasala, Jaggayyapet, Kaikaluru and Kanchikacherla.
Adding to the woes of public, Lakshmipuram tank, the major drinking water source in Tiruvuru mandal got dried up, forcing the people to identify water sources in their surroundings to quench their thirst during summer. Similar situation is prevailing at Nuzvid, Penuganchiprolu and A Konduru mandals.
Taking a serious note of the issue, District Collector A Md Imtiyaz on Wednesday convened a meeting with MPDOs, RWS, panchayat raj officials and municipal commissioners to take stock of the groundwater level depletions across the district. Imtiyaz called upon the officials concerned to draft an action plan for a fortnight to ensure drinking water supply.
As part of it, he suggested to the officials to provide `1,000 for each hand pump for its maintenance making use of the 14th Finance Commission funds. Instructions were also given to the officials to repair the defunct bores on a war footing, he said. The Collector said that drinking water was being supplied to 2,484 rural habitations across the district, of which 39 habitations were covered under Comprehensive Protected Water Supply (CPWS) scheme and remaining 2,295 localities were covered under Piped Water Supply (PWS) scheme.
In addition to that, 389 summer storage tanks were filled with water from major irrigation canals like Ryves, KEB, Bandar, Eluru, NCP, Gollapudi Lift Irrigation and Polavaram channels, he informed. In urban areas, municipal commissioners were also directed to ensure uninterrupted water supply by drafting a summer action plan. Officials were also directed to supply water through tankers to avoid inconvenience for the public.
A tale of depleting water table
Scanty rainfall and lack of preparedness by the officials concerned to tackle the situation is putting the public to inconvenience in mid-April
Musunuru, Chatrai, A Konduru, Reddigudem, Tiruvuru, Chandarlapadu, Bapulapadu, Nandigama, Vissannapeta and Gampalagudem are the worst-affected and people in the villages of respective mandals are relying on water tankers on every alternate day
The rate of groundwater depletion is 11 feet per annum in G Konduru mandal
Steps to overcome crisis
Collector A Md Imtiyaz suggests to the officials to provide Rs 1,000 for each hand pump for its maintenance making use of the 14th Finance Commission funds
Instructions were also given to the officials to repair defunct bores on a war footing
389 summer storage tanks were filled with water from major irrigation canals like Ryves, KEB, Bandar, Eluru, NCP, Gollapudi Lift Irrigation and Polavaram channels