Warangal: Borewells go dry, folks in dire straits

WARANGAL: Shortage of drinking water in the district has become so acute that people are paying Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 to hire a private water tanker in Raghunathapalli.

Panchayat officials dug five borewells in the past two weeks, but only one yielded water. Officials are trying hard to provide water to the people, but the groundwater table too is decreasing at an alarming rate.

“We usually get water every alternate day, but now we are not receiving even once in four days. Most of the borewells around the area are drying up. Knowing how great the demand is, private water tankers are charging us exorbitant amounts,” says Yadagiri of Raghunathapalli.

In Palakurthy, of the 448 borewells, 45 have gone completely dry and 48 have gone temporarily dry. Their motors require frequent repair while a lot of the water leaks away. Palakurthy, Nar-metta, Devaruppula, Bachannapet and Lingala Ghanpur are other villages facing the same dire situation. In Dornakal, the Munnair river has dried up completely.

The people of interior villages, like Ammapalem and Ravigudem, are the worst off, with not a single water source available. Many villagers are having to travel long distances to find even a pot of water and are worried about how much worse this could become once they are in the peak of summer.