Annamayya district reels under severe water shortage

Rayachoti (Annamayya district): Following drastic fall in groundwater level coupled with poor rains, the people of newly floated Annamayya district are facing severe drinking water problem in the summer season. Even towns like Rayachoti and Rajampet, the headquarters of the district, are not able to get drinking water atleast 5 days in a week. According to the sources, the civic administration is supplying drinking water one-hour per day in five days in a week to around 3 lakh population in Rayachoti town.

Several mandals, Galiveedu, Ramapuram, Lakki Reddy Palle, Sambepalle, Chinna mandem and Veeraballi are reeling under acute water crises.

The situation was pathetic in the villages as the women in drought-hit areas like Kondakindapalle, Vadde Palle, Katnivari Palle, Gottivari Palle, Ghoran Cheruvu, Madhavaram of Rayachoti mandal are forced walk 2 kilometres for securing a potable water. "This has become a regular exercise for us. Earlier farmers allowed us to fetch water but this year they ignored us because they are facing severe problem due to drastic fall in groundwater levels," said Derangula Lakshmi Devi of Vaddipalle in Rayachoti mandal to The Hans India. Following dropping of Protected Drinking Water Schemes (PDWS) in midway, the district was facing severe water crises.

The NTR Sujala Sravanthi scheme launched during the regime of late NTR at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore to supply drinking water to 120 villages in Rayachoti constituency, which was renamed as YSR Sujala Sravanthi after death of NTR, was also dropped in the midway.

Another PDWS launched to supply water for Rayachoti constituency through Veligallu Project by constructing pipeline linked with newly constructed Over Head Tanks (OHD), was also not materialised due to various reasons. A social activist, K Maruthi Sankar of Madhavaram village, said that the public representatives in the district are least bothered over the drinking water problem issue despite submitting several representations by the public. "As per norms of National Rural Drinking Water Supply Mission(NRDWSM), each person should be given 5.6-litre water per day. But the government is not able to supply at least 20-litre per a family in a day in the district following dropping of PDWS," he said.