People here have been facing troubles due to water scarcity for the past 15 days, and the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has not shown enough concern to solve the issue, said members of the Taxpayers’ Association.
Addressing the media here on January 27 (Saturday), the association general secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu, said the scarcity is being reported even from areas at the city’s centre, such as Seetharamapuram.
“Officials claim the scarcity is due to the decrease in the water level in the Prakasam barrage. While it is natural for this to happen during the summer, it is surprising that despite good rains last the first week of December last year, we are seeing this situation in January itself,” he said, adding that as per the government, water is being drawn from the Pulichintala project to bridge the gap between the supply and demand.
Contrary to what officials are saying, Mr. Anjaneyulu claimed that the scarcity has arisen because of the release of barrage water downstream.
“Besides, many apartments, societies and multiplex buildings that have their own borewells also depend on municipal water. If everyone in the city depends on this water, there will not be enough for everyone. While the water requirement of the city is 5 tmcft, we have only 3 tmcft in the barrage. The same has to be used for both city and agrarian needs,” Mr. Anjaneyulu said.
He pointed out how Botcha Satynarayana, when he was the Minister for Municipal Administration, had talked about constructing a check dam, which remains a distant reality to date.
The association members said the corporation is supplying water only once a day, and even that is not done regularly. Reminding the officials that the city’s 14 lakh population is dependent on the barrage water, the members urged the corporation to take immediate steps to ensure that the water is supplied twice a day, like in the past, to all localities of the city.
