The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Acute water crisis in Sirikonda

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Tuesday, Feb 26, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Acute water crisis in Sirikonda

P. Ram Mohan

Tribal hamlet-dwellers trek miles to get a pot of water

Mandal situated 70 km. on the border of Karimnagar district
Proposal with an estimated Rs. 1.60 crore awaits administrative nod

SIRIKONDA (NIZAMABAD Dt.): Several villages of this remote and interior mandal in the district have been confronting acute drinking water shortage and the problem gets worse in summer anddry season.

Tucked away in the fringes of forest, the villages find it very difficult to get a pot of potable water during the months of March and June. Tribals constitute 30 to 40 per cent of population in these villages and their womenfolk have to trek miles together to fetch water for drinking purpose from streams and ponds in forest.

Since this mandal headquarter and its villages are located 60 to 70 km from the district headquarters bordering Karimnagar district and was once a strife-torn, Left-wing extremist region, it remains neglected to this day. It has been deprived of motorable roads till recently.

Chronic dimension

In Kurdulapet village, the problem has been chronic. The villagers invariably depend on agricultural borewells for potable water. Residents of Poosala tanda (tribal hamlet) in Gadkole gram panchayat and Peesalagutta tanda in Kondur gram panchayat trudge up to get water.

“We struggle for getting safe drinking water during summer. We have no other sources than agricultural borewells and nearby streams in summer. We have represented the matter several times to the authorities concerned, but to no avail”, laments an octogenarian tribal leader Dharma Naik of Gudi Lingapur.

According to Taher Bin Hamdan, ZPTC member and Zilla Parishad vice-chairman, come summer, drinking water issue gets worse in Sirikonda, Mailaram, Ramadugu, Rekulapally, Hussain Nagar, Gadkole, Peda Valgoat, Kondur, Gudi Lingapur, Kurdulapet, Poosala tanda and Peesalagutta tanda. It has to be addressed immediately as public woes for water are indescribable, he says.

Hope

Mr. Taher said a proposal was prepared with an estimated cost of Rs.1.60 crore to redress the problem by improving water sources.

Once the estimates are approved and funds released, existing sources could be augmented and new sources explored, he added optimistically.

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