THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With summer peaking and water supply becoming erratic, the demand for well-diggers has been on the rise in the state. If each of them received requests to dig four to five wells last March, the number has doubled this year. And that has in turn led to a scarcity of rings and a shortage of ring-makers and well-diggers.
Boosting the well-digger’s business further is the delay on the part of the state ground water department in granting permission to dig borewells. A R Rajeev, a 64-year-old residing at Sasthamangalam in Thiruvananthapuram, had called up Karamana-based contractor S Ratheesh to deepen the four-feet well at his house. But the latter has been tied up with heavy workload, forcing his old customer to wait for a few more days. Ratheesh’s workers are digging wells in Karamana and Pappanamcode.
“Despite having seven labourers, it has become difficult to meet the demand,” Ratheesh told TNIE. People are not just digging new wells but cleaning up their wells so that more groundwater seeps in, the 40-year-old said. “There has been a heavy demand from across the state to dig wells. I’m taking up orders only in Thiruvananthapuram district as I’m getting adequate business here. My workers are forced to bring in additional hands, obviously migrant labourers, to make rings for wells,” he said.
While he usually digs between 150 and 200 wells a year, he felt there will hardly be an off-day this summer.
Seventy-one-year-old S Rajendran, another well-digging contractor, said the summer has been harsh this time. With two more months to go before the southwest monsoon sets in, water scarcity is likely to worsen, he said. “Farmers with agricultural land are the ones digging up large wells to meet future requirements. As a majority of the city dwellers have less land, they resort to borewells, but it takes time to get permission from the ground water department,” Rajendran said.
A Saju, a well-digger from Kureepuzha in Kollam district, prefers to make stone wells (vettu kinar) which is more durable compared to a well made of concrete rings. While Saju’s team used to go to neighbouring districts for work, now he is staying put in his hometown. Such is the demand, he said.
Meanwhile, A G Gopakumar, a superintending hydrogeologist with the ground water department, said they give permission to dig borewells only after their survey team examines the spot.
“The delay depends on the demand in each district. The department has purchased six high-power drilling machines. If eight hours were needed earlier to spot water, now it takes only half the time. The state government had allotted Rs 6 crore to buy high-power drilling machines,” he said.
Not so pocket-friendly
Digging a well doesn’t come cheap in Thiruvananthapuram, with a 3.25ft deep well priced at Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,700 per ring. The deeper the well the more expensive the ring, with a six-feet well costing Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 per ring.