Guntur suburbs reel under severe water crisis

Guntur: Residents of Pragatinagar, Krishnababu Colony, Kondavenkatappaiah Colony, Swarnabharatinagar, Lalpuram, Chandrababu Naidu Colony and Ambedkar Colony, the suburbs of city, are facing drinking water scarcity even before the onset of peak summer. They are depending upon water tankers, which are also coming once a week.

Highlights:

• Water tankers supply water only once a week.
• GMC SE says apartments are drawing more water using motors leading to short supply in few colonies.
  

Women residing in these areas have to walk for half-a-kilometre to fetch drinking water as they have no alternative source. Some families, who can afford to spend a penny more, are purchasing water cans, which costs Rs 20 each. With groundwater levels depleting, bore wells drying, the people of these colonies are heavily depending on water tankers.

A Seethamma resident of Pragathinagar says, “Sometimes the tankers come at night, we have no option but to stay awake and fill the drums. The GMC is not supplying water through tankers regularly. Women, who are going to agriculture works, are purchasing water cans at Rs 20 per can,”

It is said that though the GMC is supplying water, the residents of AT Agraharam, RK Puram, Brodipet, AL Pet, Pattabhipuram and Syamalanagar in the heart of the city are not getting sufficient water to cater to their needs. Speaking to The Hans India GMC superintendent engineer R. Gopalakrishna Reddy said that they were releasing 95 MLD of water to meet drinking water needs.

“We are engaging 52 tankers and making 500 trips to supply sufficient drinking water to the residents. Though we are releasing sufficient water, some apartments are using electrical motors to draw water as a result, some residents are not getting sufficient water,” he admitted.