Politics gobble up water bodies in Anantapur

Anantapur: The resignation drama, enacted by TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy, brings under the spotlight the fate of tanks and ponds in the water-starved Anantapur district.

The removal of encroachments in the Ananthasagar tank in Anantapur city by the district administration, among others, was said to have acted as the trigger for the JC’s resignation threat. It is alleged that the houses came up in 35 acres of the tank lands with an active support from the MP’s followers. The houses were pulled down when Diwakar was away in the UK and the officials with their action obviously earned his wrath.

The historical tank with a sprawling 1,900acres, which was once the lifeline of the city, is fast disappearing. The tank is located in a prime area close to the Collectorate where the land price is anything not less than Rs 15 lakh per cent. It is obvious that the grabbers set their eyes on the tank by drawing support from the political parties in power.

The disappearance of tanks, leading to fast depletion of groundwater and worsening the water crisis in the district, became a cause of concern for the ecologists and the watermen struggling for water conservation in the district. According to a survey conducted in 2000, there were around 1,373 tanks and ponds in the district. SM Bhasha, a water conservation activist from Anantapur city, stated in his study paper based on the inscriptions that most of the tanks were built during the period of Pallavas in 7th century AD.

Bhasha told The Hans India that the tanks located close to the towns such as Dharmavaram, Hindupur and Anantapur have been subjected to grabbing. He attributed the acute water crisis that gripped the district over the years to the encroachments of tanks. Besides, almost all the tanks lost their utility as they suffered breaches and the government allegedly turned a blind eye to the need for their facelift.

Take the case of Ananthasagar, for instance. Fed by three streams, it used to be once a major drinking water source for the city. Now it is losing its shape and character due to encroachments, he regretted. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during his recent visit promised to bring all the irrigation tanks to their past glory and fill them with Krishna river water through the Hundri Neeva Sujala Sravanthi scheme so as to meet drinking and irrigation needs in the district.

However, the tanks seemingly come under a serious threat much before Naidu’s promise became a reality. Peddi Reddy, president of the Andhra Pradesh Rytu Sangham, said poor water conservation efforts from the government side had a telling effect on the ground water tables in the district.

There are no traces of groundwater even after the borewells were sunk as deep as 1,500ft and the alarming situation prevailed in 35 out of 63 mandals in the district. Drought and the resultant water crisis made way for prospective water business all over the district. A tanker of water is priced at anything more than Rs 500-600, Peddi Reddy observed.