ADILABAD: With temperatures rising and reservoir levels dropping in the erstwhile Adilabad district, Rural Water Supply Department officials and Mission Bhagiratha have prepared a contingency plan to tackle potential drinking water shortages if water sources hit dead storage level.
Due to the ongoing heatwave and more than a month of summer remaining, several areas are already facing water scarcity. In response, officials have begun supplying water through gram panchayat tankers to affected villages.
Currently, the intake well of the Sriramsagar project is supplying water to Adilabad, Boath and Nirmal constituencies. Out of the total 95 MLD being supplied, 63 MLD is allocated to Adilabad and Boath constituencies, while the remaining goes to Nirmal.
Adilabad municipality, which has a demand of 25 MLD, is currently receiving only 21 MLD. Following the district collector’s instructions, municipal officials have initiated desilting of the Landa Sangi pump house, which had remained unused since the implementation of Mission Bhagiratha. According to the municipal engineer, the desilting is expected to recharge the water source by up to 5 MLD per day.
Adilabad Circle Superintending Engineer B Shravan Kumar stated that plans A, B, and C are in place to tackle water shortages if reservoirs reach dead storage. Currently, SRSP has a water level of 11.335 tmcft, significantly higher than last year’s 7.912 tmcft, though the project’s dead storage level is 6 tmcft. If necessary, Plan B will tap into local sources, while Plan C will divert water from agricultural sources.
Around 35 tankers are distributing drinking water through gram panchayats tankers, with the government providing diesel allowances for tanker operations.