The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : No safe water in fluoride-hit villages

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Sunday, Jul 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

No safe water in fluoride-hit villages

B. Chandrashekhar

Poor quality in pipeline work cited

Against the maximum permissible limit of 1.5 ppm of fluoride content, it ranges from 2 to 2.5 ppm
Leakages noticed at about 120 points on the 6-km pipeline

At officials’ mercy: Villagers collecting water in a fluoride-hit village of Anantapur district.

PAMIDI (ANANTAPUR DT.): Lack of proper supervision over the execution of works of a drinking water scheme meant for eight fluoride-hit villages in Pamidi mandal by the officials and engineers of the Rural Water Supply Department has left the scheme, taken up with about Rs. 75 lakh, incomplete, even three years after it was taken up. As a result, about 50,000 people in these villages are denied safe drinking water till date.

A sizeable habitants of Kondapuram, Kalapuram, Devarapalli, Obulapuram, Khadarpeta, Akkajampalli, G. Kottala and Edururu villages are suffering with one fluoride related problem or the other.

“Young people of our village are accustomed to suffer old-age problems like joint pains, deformity in limbs and tooth, bending back and others. We have accepted it as our destiny,” Ramanjaneyulu of Khadarpeta said with a sense of despair during a visit to the village on Saturday.

Not only youth and middle-aged but even children are not spared, several villagers explained.

Against the maximum permissible limit of 1.5 ppm of fluoride content in the drinking water, water in these villages has fluoride content ranging from 2 ppm to 2.5 ppm.

Acknowledging the fact, in-charge Junior Executive Engineer Sridhar stated that Devarapalli, Obulapuram, Khadarpeta and Kalapuram have no potable water at all.

People of all the eight villages have no other option but to consume unsafe water available in borewells.

While the delivery pipelines of the scheme were laid with Rs. 34 lakh funds from the State Finance Commission, the pumping pipeline from pump house to service reservoir, including reservoir, were taken up with Rs. 40 lakh of ARWS funds, the JEE explained.

When the scheme’s pumping pipeline was tested a couple of months back, leakages were notice at about 120 point on the 6-km pipeline till the service reservoir over a hillock near Pamidi.

However, the contractor who executed the work pulled out citing losses. He even completed Rs. 4 lakh worth excess work without any administrative sanction.

As the contractor pulled out, the department has now taken up the task of repairing the pipeline on its own.

“We have identified and repaired leakages at about 80 points so far and it is to be seen how the pipeline withstands the pumping pressure when it is tested again within a week”, the JEE said.

The leakages are taking place due to gaps left in the application of adhesive in the couplings.

The weak joints are opening up due to the high pumping pressure.

Keeping aside all the technicalities, the leakages in the pipeline mean poor quality work to people for whom the scheme was taken up.

“Had there been proper supervision over the execution of pipeline work, there would not have been so many leakages and we would have been receiving safe water already”, another villager felt.

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