BHAWANIPATNA: Dry spell for over six months has hit the normal life hard in Kalahandi district. Most of the water bodies have dried up and water level in rivers including Tel has substantially come down as there has been no rain since September last year.
In Indravati reservoir, the water level has come down to 632 feet from 642 feet. The reservoir, which has a power generation capacity of 600 mw, is currently producing 130-135 mw. With the water level in the reservoir dropping fast, officials apprehend that it may affect power generation during the peak summer month of May.
Although water crisis has surfaced in all the 13 blocks of the district, the worst hit areas are Golamunda, Koksara, Bhawanipatna, Narla, Karlamunda, Kesinga, Lanjigarh and Thuamul Rampur. While water bodies are drying up, most of the tubewells are either defunct or not pumping out sufficient water.
For drinking water, there are 17,933 tubewells, 830 shallow wells and 247 piped water projects. But, almost 30 per cent of tubewells are not yielding adequate water and 20 per cent are defunct due to fall in ground water level. To tide over the crisis, 19 mobile tubewell repairing units have been put in to service, Executive Engineer of RWSS, Bipra Charan Mishra said.
The urban pockets of Bhawanipatna Municipality area, Kesinga, Junagarh and Dharamgarh NACs are also facing water crisis.
Hard water coming out of the tubewells is another concern for residents in areas under Bhawanipatna Municipality.
Meanwhile, Collector D Brundha has directed different block authorities to make arrangement for water supply through tankers in the scarcity pockets of rural areas. The situation is monitored in the Collector office.