For several years, Gangubai Rathod’s daily chore has been to wait for hours in long queues to fetch water from tankers even during non-summer months. A farm labourer in Tamba village of Indi taluk in Vijayapura district, the 37-year-old had to sacrifice her daily wage every alternate day to fetch water. “Despite the wait, we sometimes ended up not having enough water for daily needs,” she says.
This year, however, Ms. Gangubai is relieved as she does not have to do this. In fact, Vijayapura district as a whole has not been supplied water through tankers from the last quarter of 2019, thanks to a simple water management mechanism.
Deputy Commissioner Y.S. Patil told The Hindu that a coordination committee of Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd. (KBJNL) officials, ZP and departments of Revenue, and Police, had ensured the effective management of release of water from canals to tanks. This mechanism was put in place after the district administration found out that lack of coordination between departments was the reason for water woes.
The committee ensured there was basic coordination between KBJNL and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Department. The committee kept a watch on the water status, prioritised drinking water and reviewed the situation every 15 days. A strict direction on filling up all tanks used for drinking water also did the trick.
“Tanks are the primary sources of water in rural areas where the multi-village scheme is implemented. Earlier, KBJNL was releasing water to these tanks through canals from Almatti dam, but there was no system to monitor the required quantum of water to these tanks,” Mr. Patil said.
As per data, the district administration supplied water through 30,000 tankers with over 88,000 trips by spending over ₹5.38 crore last year. “This year, the effective management helped us save a good share of public money. We have not spent anything on tankers,” he said.
