VIJAYAWADA: Villagers of Sivapuram in Penuganchiprolu mandal of NTR district are facing a severe drinking water shortage in the aftermath of recent floods. The recent Munneru floods had left Sivapuram and nearby villages such as Muchchintala, Anigandlapadu, and Gummadiduru without electricity for 12 days.
Though the villagers are slowly recovering from the disaster, the shortage of drinking remains critical in Sivapuram. The officials have only provided water through the panchayat taps for only a week in the past 25 days, the villagers lamented.
With no drinking water supply, Sivapuram residents must queue for water at Madupalli, a village across the border in Telangana’s Madhira mandal. Expressing their plight for drinking water, the locals slammed the officials for their alleged failure in providing potable water following the floods.
In a village of around 500 families, only several families have access to borewells, meanwhile other strata of the society solely depend on street taps. The villagers are forced to fetch water by walking about 2.5 kilometres away on metalled roads and consume water from wells and hand pumps, risking their health.
Speaking to TNIE, a resident named P Pullaiah explained that despite repeated complaints seeking proper water supply, the officials failed to address the issue, attributing the shortage of water to failure of motors, and lack of electricity. Yet, no progress has been made to restore the water supply.
Additionally, the villagers raised concerns about accidents due to the potholes on border roads. Another resident, P Pridhvi told TNIE, that in addition to the drinking water shortage, it’s impossible to predict when an accident might occur during the rains due to waterlogging. He urged the district administration to prioritise the urgent need to repair the pothole-ridden roads.
Though TNIE tried to contact NTR district Collector Dr G Srijana several times regarding the acute water shortage in Sivapuram, she was unavailable for a comment.