Warangal: As the summer heat is rising to uncomfortable levels each passing day, tribals living in interior hamlets are finding it difficult to find drinking water.
The situation is acute in Mahbubabad district where hand pumps and drinking water wells have gone dry. With temperatures soaring over 40°Celsius, groundwater level has decreased considerably.
Open wells, bore wells and hand pumps have gone dry. Villagers are forced to walk several kilometres to fetch water. Public water distribution by village panchayats too has stopped due to unavailability of water.
The Mission Bhagiratha project which was taken up by state government with the promise to provide safe drinking water to every household, has so far been ineffective in most areas in the district.
In Mahbubabad mandal alone, of the 103 overhead service reservoirs sanctioned to it under the project, only 45 are completed. Works are yet to begin for 20 tanks and 38 tanks are at various stages of completion.
Most villages are yet to get a water pipeline under Mission Bhagiratha. Only a small number of villages are receiving water and some of these villages are troubled by frequent repairs to the water pipelines. The Munneru stream which is the prime source of drinking water to some areas has been linked to the Mission Bhagiratha pipelines and these villages are receiving water once every two days.
Water shortage is being experienced even in Warangal Urban district due to decreasing groundwater levels.
Several villages in Elkathurthy, Bheemadevarapalli and Kamalapur mandals are facing a shortage of water. Locals complain that the Mission Bhagiratha works have damaged the old drinking water pipelines and the new pipelines have leakages which results in wastage of water. With the newly elected village sarpanches are yet to get cheque powers, they are unable to sanction funds for water supply.
