SANGAREDDY: Living in the district is like living in a desert. The green cover has almost vanished and water is scarce for people as well as cattle. The situation can be aptly summarised by observing a tribe of goats that travel for over a kilometre to drink water from a pond that has been dug up by officials at Borancha. Farmers and officials who witnessed this scene expressed concern over their fate, as the future looks unpredictable. Manjeera river which used to be full of water is now running dry. About 100 villages are dependent on the river and there is acute shortage of water. The district administration is now concentrating on solving the drinking water needs of the people.
Last November, bores were dug up on the river bed and many of them dried up due to lack of water. As a result, drinking water problem deepened. District collector Ronald Ross stepped in to solve the crisis wherein he directed officials to dig up secretion ponds wherever they find sand along Manjeera river.
Officials first initiated the plan at Borancha village in Manoor mandal and dug up two borewells at intake well near Manjeera river. It was successful and by next morning plenty of water reached a nearby lake. The water was then purified and supplied to about 20 villages. After a month, however, water levels started to decrease and it is now being supplied to four or five villages on alternate days.
When it became clear that water from this source would not last long, officials set up secretion ponds in a nearby village Guduru. 28 villages are being supplied 15 lakh liters of water through this on alternate days to around 11,000 people, said RWS engineer M Raja Ratnam. About 10 lakh liters of water come out from the secretion ponds in the river every day and water is being pumped for about eight hours. Officials had also dug up secretion ponds in Shapur village of the mandal and are pumping water from the pond. Ronald Ross said drought for the consecutive year led to water scarcity.
“It is expected that the water in ponds will last till the end of this month and the administration is trying to utilise every opportunity and will provide drinking water to people at least on alternate days,” he added.