Water demands rend the air in Manikonda

• Manikonda became a separate municipality by merging three Panchayats such as Manikonda, Puppalguda and Naiknaampur of Rangereddy district

• This municipality is divided into 20 wards and has around 45,000 voters. However, the areas experiencing severe water scarcity year after year

Rajendranagar: People of Manikonda, an area teeming with educated population in palatial houses, villas and high-rise buildings, are facing an acute shortage of water for several years now.

Manikonda area is widely called as a 'haven of high-rise culture' due to the presence of skyscrapers, leading software company headquarters, business infrastructures and commercial establishments. However, despite standing close to the two historic lakes of Himayath Sagar and Osman Sagar, along with a few other small water bodies and ponds, this area has been deprived of sufficient water supply.

The government recently formed Manikonda as separate municipality by merging three erstwhile Gram Panchayats such as Manikonda, Puppalguda and Naiknaampur of Rangereddy district. This municipality is divided into 20 wards and has around 45,000 voters.

However, the panchayats experience severe water scarcity year after year. The problem keeps worsening. All promises and assurances made by the powers-that-be remained mere lip service, deplore the people. Perturbed by the grave situation, the residents unfurled the "banner of demand" right over their buildings, with a clear message that "We need safe drinking water. 5 years...and we are still waiting."

The residents are raising these "banners of demand" to draw the attention of candidates contesting in the municipal foray to the most pressing issue of water scarcity.

"Water scarcity has become a persistent issue in this area. We are getting water supply twice in a week, that too, during night. With depleting groundwater table levels, we are completely dependent on supply through water tankers, which is a big burden. The irony is a huge water supply line is passing close to the Manikonda area, through which water is being supplied to the city habitations. But, our area is completely left out, without water," bemoaned Srinivas, a resident of Neknampur in under Manikonda Municipality.

People of his ilk opine that the issues need a political will for permanent fix and that only card-carrying politicians can ensure this. "They come and go every time throwing promises and assurances on our faces.

Hence, we have flung the banners of our demand on our colony buildings to make them realise the gravity of situation and hollowness of their promises," said K Mahesh, a resident of Alkapur Township. Besides water scarcity, there are a few other issues bothering the residents, such as narrow roads and pending development projects despite their approvals.