DHARMAPURI : The residents of the hill hamlet of Vathalmalai in Dharmapuri district have resorted to purchasing drinking water from the villages in the plains as water scarcity intensifies with advancing summer.
The villagers are purchasing water from private suppliers and are transporting about 4,000 liters in tractors by paying about Rs 2,500 per trip.
Vathalamalai is one of the tribal hamlets in Dharmapuri which does not have the luxury of the Hogenakkal Drinking Water and Fluorosis Mitigation Project. The residents here rely on dozens of wells for drinking water. However, over the past year the lack of rainfall has left the water sources depleted and the residents here have been using the borewells in the area to replenish the wells. But as the well water leaves a bitter taste, the villagers have been purchasing water from down the hill to ensure clean drinking water for the people.
Speaking to TNIE, R Kaliappan from Palsimabu locality, said, “We are facing a severe shortage of drinking water. When it rains the water usually deposits in the wells and over time this becomes our drinking water. As there was no rain in the recent months, there is no water now. As the groundwater taken through borewell is bitter we cannot consume it. t is also increasingly difficult to manage our livestock.”
K Suriya from Periyur said, “We are buying water from down the hills. Usually a tank of water would cost only Rs 1,000, but because we have to make the 25-kilometre journey, we are paying Rs 2,500 per trip. We share the water and the cost among others to survive. We want the Hogenakkal drinking water supply in our village.”
J Prathapan, the District Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Agricultural Labourers Association, said, “It seems neither the Block Development Office nor the panchayat cares about the water shortage in Vathalmalai. Each home must be provided with at least 50 liters of water and efforts need to be taken. We are aware of the water scarcity across the district. But in the hill hamlet they have no alternative means.”
Officials in the District Rural Development Agency were not available for comment when TNIE attempted to contact.