ADILABAD: Depleting water levels due to a lack of rain and the El Nino effect in several projects have resulted in reduced water lifting from the Mategaon intake well, which falls under the state’s safe drinking water project, Mission Bhagiratha.
As a result, both Adilabad and Nirmal districts are facing a drinking water crisis. At the Mategaon intake well, a vital drinking water extraction facility, water lifting has dropped from 130 million litres per day (MLD) to 110 MLD.
The situation at the Dhanora intake well under the Ada project is even worse as accumulated silt and the growth of vegetation have forced the stoppage of operations, with water being extracted only when fresh water reaches the facility. It may be mentioned here that water is supplied to Adilabad and Nirmal districts when it reaches the Mategaon intake well from the Sri Ram Sagar Project (SRSP). However, the current storage level at the reservoir is just 15 tmcft.
From the Dhanora intake well, water is being lifted to five mandals in Adilabad district and five mandals in Komaram Bheem Asifabad district.
Speaking to TNIE, Adilabad Circle Superintendent Engineer P Shravan Kumar said that 1,211 habitations in Adilabad district and 676 habitations in Nirmal district are being supplied water through the Mategaon intake well. Of the 110 MLD, 77 MLD is supplied to Adilabad and 33 MLD to Nirmal. He also said that currently, Adilabad municipality is getting only 22 MLD from Mategaon due to various reasons, including leakages, while Nirmal municipality is being supplied 13.8 MLD. This is as per the requirements of the habitations, he said.
In a few places, there are delays in the supply of water due to technical issues, he added.
Meanwhile, Adilabad Municipality Executive Engineer Arun Kumar said that, as per the agreement, under Mission Bhagiratha, 32 MLD of water has to be supplied, but presently the municipality is receiving only 18 MLD and around 7.5 MLD is being sourced locally.
“For the last 10 years, Adilabad municipality has been supplying 24 MLD of water. Regular water supply is being ensured in 24 municipal wards, while 25 wards are getting water on alternate days,” he said.
When contacted by TNIE, sarpanches of a few gram panchayats said that water is being supplied to their villages through local sources and not Mission Bhagiratha. They also said that they had raised the issue with the officials concerned on several occasions, but their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Adivasis Hakulla Porata Samithi, Komaram Bheem Asifabad district president, Kova Vijay said that several villages are experiencing irregular water supply due to a decrease in the storage level in the Ada project.
“The project side wall is believed to have been damaged, due to which the storage capacity has decreased. Most residents are now depending on borewells for their drinking water needs,” he said.
