CHITTOOR: Many mandals in the district are facing acute scarcity of drinking water during this summer. About 30 out of the total 66 mandals in the district are reeling under drinking water crisis. Groundwater table has declined in 1,132 habitations across the district. As many as 1,070 habitations are dependent on supply of water through tankers.
Realising the gravity of the crisis, the Rural Water Supply department has been supplying water to 162 villages in the district through tankers where protected water schemes and borewells were defunct. RWS officials are contacting farmers having borewells in their agriculture lands to draw water to quench the thirst of villages.
The situation is alarming in Kuppam, Palamaner, Madanapalle, Thamballapalle, Chandragiri and Putalapattu Assembly constituencies. The RWS department has been supplying water to 1,850 habitations through 819 tankers since the advent of summer. But rural people are complaining that the supply of water through tankers is not sufficient to meet their drinking needs. “We have to wait for the tanker to get water as there is no specific time for its arrival. There is a need to find out a permanent solution to the drinking water problem in the district during summer,” said KVeeraswamy of Santhipuram mandal.
Semi-urban areas in Madanapalle, Punganur and Palamaner are also facing severe scarcity of drinking water. People of Valmikipuram and Gurramkonda in Pileru constituency are finding it tough to quench their thirst. The drinking water scarcity is also severe in Punganur municipality. A senior official from the RWS department said that `23 crore was released to Chittoor district for augment of drinking water supply during summer. The RWS department initiated measures to augment drinking water supply in problematic villages. Steps would be taken to solve the drinking water problem in villages if it was taken to the notice of the department, he said.