Drinking water crisis escalates as district administrations are busy in elections

Bengaluru : As the summer heats up, the problem of drinking water shortage has started increasing in various parts of the state. There is a strong possibility that the situation will worsen during the summer season for another seven or eight weeks. However, lack of any additional preparation at the state level has led to problem. The government has washed its hands by transferring the responsibility to the district task forces to make appropriate arrangements where there are problems.

Water shortage in various parts of Khanapur, Udupi, Kodagu district in mid-April has made people's hopes dry. The state government, which used to make extra preparations to handle the problem of drinking water every summer, neglected this year that it would not be much of a problem due to the abundant monsoon in the last three years. As a result, the drinking water scarcity situation has started intensifying without proper monitoring of the problem and response.

It is common to make preparations so that people and livestock do not face drinking water problems. Several steps were to be taken like listing of problematic residential areas, release of special grants, monitoring system at the state level and release of guidelines. However, this year no such preparation has taken place.

If there is a water problem, the government is silent by directing that the task force under the chairmanship of the concerned district collector should focus on it. A situation has arisen where there is no one to listen to the officials of Rural Development, Urban Development and Revenue Department who were supposed to take responsibility. On the other hand, the water problem is increasing in many places as the district administrations are under election pressure.

Water problem in big cities is not much this summer. As the water level in the water bodies is good, the problem has not reached the severity of most of the urban areas. However, the problem has started increasing in small towns and rural areas. In the last season, the rains subsided at the end of September. Even the pre-monsoon rains that have been pouring during Ugadi for some years have not happened. In addition, the drying up of water bodies due to the intense heat of the sun has made it clear that the problem is likely to intensify.

As every time, the government has not taken care to repair tube wells and drill new tube wells this time. Clean drinking water facilities have broken down in many parts of the state. Although the district and taluk task force was supposed to meet every Friday to review the drinking water issue, it has not been a priority for the authorities since the announcement of the election deadline on March 29. In most of the places, there is no response to the problem as the task force meetings are not held. In areas where there are more problems, the work of supplying drinking water through tankers is not going on.

Lack of water has increased the problem of people in the welfare state of Karnataka. In Devadurga, Manvi and other places, people depend on tube wells in nearby plantations for drinking water. In many parts of this region, it is a common sight for people to carry water in a vessel on two-wheelers.

There was a belief that there would be no drinking water problem as the ground water level had increased due to abundant rains for the past three years. However, drinking water problems have started increasing in Udupi and Kodagu districts. A record amount of water flowed in the Cauvery river which overflowed during the last rainy season. But, in the middle of summer, water is drained. There is a problem with drinking water in Kushalanagar, Mullusoge, Hebbale and other parts of Kodagu. In addition, the cities of Mysore and Bangalore, which depend on the source of Kaveri river, are also likely to face problems in the next few weeks.