A LONG WAIT: Empty vessels at a public tap in Kakandaki village of Basavanabagewadi taluk in Bijapur district.

BIJAPUR: As monsoon continues to play truant, Bijapur district appears to be heading for a major drinking-water crisis. Internal water sources have dried up in 102 villages, and water is being supplied from places far away. According to the Headquarters Assistant to Deputy Commissioner, N. Shivaraj, 34 more villages have been enlisted for water supply through tankers.

Indi taluk is the worst hit, with 35 villages depending on water supply from outside sources. Bijapur taluk has 30 such villages. Twenty-one villages in Sindagi taluk and eight villages each in Basavanabagewadi and Muddebihal taluks have no water sources of their own.

Rainfall

It is worst-ever water scarcity faced by the district. Last year, water was supplied to 85 villages in tankers. Although the district should have received rainfall of at least 60 mm by this time of the year, only 22 mm has been recorded. There is no water in wells, and villages are reporting dry borewells. However, fodder supply is satisfactory compared with the situation last year.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mohammad Mohsin, who also heads the task force on water scarcity, told The Hindu that the administration has already taken over a few private water-sources, mainly borewells, to supply drinking water to villages.

More water sources may be taken over if needed. There is no shortage of funds for water supply. An additional grant of Rs. 2 crores has been sought from the Government, he added.

The water supply situation in some urban centres, such as Sindagi, Indi, Chadchana, Guledgudda and Hungund, is deteriorating.

In some places, people have invoked the rain god. In the weavers' town of Ilkal, people performed a "yajna" for `Varuna Deva.'

According to sources in the Department of Geology, the water-table has depleted in some places known for abundant groundwater resource, such as Kakandaki village in Basavanabagewadi taluk.

"Even during the 1972 famine, we did not experience water scarcity," Bhaagavva, an elderly resident of the village, said. "This time we really feel the pinch. We have lined up vessels to collect water for the last three days.''

Drinking water used to be drawn from an old well in the village, which has a population of 6,000. It has remained dry for two years.

There are over 15 borewells, but a majority of them have dried up. Long rows of empty vessels can be seen in front of public borewells that still yield water. But water pumping is affected by power cuts and supply in single phase during the day.

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