Wednesday, Mar 10, 2004
Wednesday, Mar 10, 2004 |
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By R. Madhavan Nair
KOZHIKODE, MARCH 9. Water scarcity caused by drought conditions in Wayanad district is getting worse by the day, increasing pressure on the district administration to supply more drinking water to more parts of the district. The ponds, wells and tributaries of the Kabini river from where water is drawn for distribution to the water-scarce parts of Wayanad are rapidly drying up. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has informed the district administration there will not be any water left if the water bodies from where water is drawn for distribution by tanker-lorries are not replenished by rain in the next two weeks. The lone source for water that remains untapped so far is the Banasurasagar dam. The District Collector, K. Gopalan, will be in Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow to seek Government assistance for management of the the crisis precipitated by drought and drinking water scarcity. Water shortage has been particularly severe in the Mullankolly and Pulpally panchayats in Suthan Bathery taluk and in a few parts of the Mananthavadi taluk. Lorryloads of water are being rushed to these places every day. A 24-hour control room has been opened at the civil station to meet the demand for water. Officials have also been deployed at the taluk and panchayat levels to monitor the drought. According to preliminary estimates prepared by the district administration, yield worth Rs. 97 crores was lost in severe drought till February. What is causing alarm are clear signs that the drought is going from bad to worse. Time was when the annual rainfall in the wooded district used to be as high as 6000 mm. This is reported to have dropped to a low 1500 mm this year. Thomas Ambalavayal, a spokesman of the Wayanad Prakriti Samrakshana Samithy, which recently organised a tour of the drought-affected areas in Sulthan Bathery taluk, believes long-term strategies to rejuvenate the district's perennial streams and other water sources are the need of the hour. These once used to yield enough water for the district's farms and people. The Samithy urged the Government to undertake extensive afforestation programmes instead of resorting to short-term measures like taking water by tanker lorries to water-starved people and to provide them temporary relief. "Ban banana cultivation in paddy fields, stop tourist activities in the Chembra and Pookkott lakes and Kuruva islands as these have damaged the fragile ecosystems here," the eco-group demanded today. Nature-lovers in Wayanad believe that the present severe drought is Nature's way of taking revenge on the local people for indiscriminate use of poisonous pesticides, for felling giant trees to grow pepper vines and for destroying large tracts of forests. The demand for effective Government intervention to tackle water scarcity is getting louder. A day-long hartal was observed in the Mullankolly and Pulpally panchayats last week. Parched farms now symbolise the declining fortunes of the once-prosperous farmers of Wayanad.
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