Anantapur: A pit 50 foot wide and 20 foot deep was formed in the Chitravati river in Goddumarri village, Yellanur mandal on Sunday.
This is the second time that such an incident has taken place in the region, within the span of a year. The sudden appearance of the hole created panic among people of the surrounding areas.
On Sunday, the farmers of Goddumarri heard a loud sound, which was caused by the caving in of land. When they rushed to the source of the sound, they saw the pit had formed in the river bed.
A similar incident was reported on January 29 last year at the same location. Then, the river bed had shrunk to a depth of 10 ft. The officials of the ground water department had then concluded that the shrinking of land was due to the depletion of ground water resources in the Chitravati area. The Chitravati river has not flowed for 13 years owing to insufficient rainfall.
Deputy director of the Anantapur groundwater department Purushotham Reddy assessed that the poor rainfall combined with continuous depletion of groundwater sources, even at depths of 800 foot had led to the shrinking of land.
At the Hagari (Vedavati) river bed in Kanekal mandal, a similar case of groundwater depletion has led to the development of sand dunes resembling those in Rajasthan.
