BHAWANIPATNA: Rising temperature in Kalahandi district has led to drying up of sources of water. The issue, though not new for the district, has left the locals worried.
With temperature hovering around 42 degree Celsius and more than two months to go this summer, people in rural and urban pockets here face an imminent drinking water crisis. Rivers Udanti, Sandol and Sagada are gradually drying up while water level in most of the streams and tanks are touching rock bottom.
In rural Kalahandi, villagers have dug up chahalas on river banks as well as beds to meet their daily water needs while scarcity is acute in Bhawanipatna Sadar block, Golamunda, Karlamunda, Narla and Lanjigarh blocks.
According to the report of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Department, water table in about 30 per cent of 20,229 tube wells in rural areas has dipped drastically. Those tube-wells, which are functional, are supplying hard water, leaving it unfit for consumption.
Similarly, out of the 281 rural pipe water supply projects, 16 are defunct as the deep bore wells are on the verge of breakdown and need river-linking. The proposed mega rural water supply project covering 26 gram panchayats of Karlamunda block too is yet to materialise, said sources.
The depleting ground water level has its impact on urban pockets too. For Bhawanipatna, water is being pumped from river Hati through a 140-km pipeline supplying more than 1 crore 14 lakh litres water but there remains a deficit of 90 lakh litres. Moreover, 30 km long pipeline is needed to cover the entire town, sources said.
Similarly, in Dharamgarh town, 2.64 million litres of pipe water is supplied from river Tel but there is deficit of 0.90 million litres while in Junagarh, 3.26 million litres of water is supplied from Hati but there is deficit of 2.38 million litres. In Kesinga town, 3.19 million litres of water is supplied from Tel with a deficit of 2.25 million litres.
Besides the pipelines, 14 Amrut dharas are functional in Bhawanipatna, six each in Dharamgarh and Kesinga and four in Junagarh. But due to power cuts, Amrut Dharas are not in a position to serve to the capacity.
With people continuing to struggle for every drop from early summer, the municipal authorities are yet to start water supply through tankers. Sources said two tankers each are ready for operation in every block.