Many villages in the Melghat region of Maharashtra’s Amravati district are facing a serious water shortage, forcing locals to get water from contaminated streams during the country’s extreme summer heatwaves.
Things get worse and more uncomfortable at the height of summer. Mariampur village’s residents claim they are compelled to dig pits on the edge of the contaminated pond in order to gather drinking water.
The locals have further raised their concerns over the government’s inaction, citing the absence of water tankers and the ill-functioning governmental taps in their village.
Subhash Sawalkar, a villager, explained, “Our village has only one pond and that too polluted. We wake up around 4 am and go to the pond to collect water for our children. It takes about 2-3 hours to fill the pits we dig. People queue up to collect this polluted water, which causes health problems for our children. Just today, I had to take my children to the doctor for medicine.”
Phulkai Belsare, an elderly resident of Mariampur, added, “There is no tanker supply, and we don’t receive water from the tap. We come here early in the morning and sometimes we have to stay until 10-11 pm just to collect this dirty water. The water crisis is creating a lot of trouble, and no one is taking action upon it.”
Another villager, Jasmine, expressed her frustration and stated, “Can nobody see what is happening in Mariampur? From the Municipal Committee to the water department, everyone is just sleeping. We face a severe water crisis. Other villages have government taps and borewells, but we don’t even have those. We had one facility for tap water but that was also damaged. I demand that the government repair our taps.”
She further stated, “We wait for hours to collect dirty water from these pits, which is harmful to our health. There is no tanker supply or any other assistance.”
Amravati falls within the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, where the water crisis has been a longstanding issue. Due to climate vulnerability, Vidarbha is one of the regions worst hit by this crisis. Vidarbha is one of the regions with a high rate of farmer suicides, which is often attributed to the lack of water in the region.
Due to extreme heatwave conditions, various parts of the nation are suffering from a severe water crisis. Earlier on Thursday, water crises surfaced in various parts of Delhi, where residents have had to wait for hours in a long queue for water tankers.
Speaking with ANI, the residents of the Geeta Colony in the East Delhi district have raised concerns regarding the inadequate supply of water from the government. They also complain that the government only provides half the needed amount.
Vinay, a resident of Geeta Colony, told ANI, “We are facing a severe water crisis. Our locality has a population of around 3,000-4,000 people, but the government sends only half the required number of tankers.”
“Although a tanker comes daily, but in this scorching heat, the demand for water has significantly increased. Sometimes, they reduce the amount of water in the tanker, due to which we suffer a lot. While in the absence of tankers, the wealthier residents can buy water, but the poorer ones cannot, due to which they have to drink dirty water, which leads to illness,” he added.
He further asserted, “We have complained to the MLA of the area multiple times, but we have never received a valid response. No one is listening to us.”
An elderly resident shared, “I usually come after 10-15 days, sometimes even a month, but as always, I don’t get water.
“Shabru Khatun, a resident of the colony, said, “There are a lot of problems regarding water in this area. We get only one tanker for the entire area. The tanker water is used for drinking and cooking purposes. Sometimes, we don’t even get the tanker, and we are forced to buy bottled water.”
While Siliguri is also facing a massive water crisis after Siliguri Municipal Corporation authorities requested the residents not to drink the water supplied by the corporation due to its contamination.
Municipal Corporation Mayor of Siliguri, Gautam Dev, said, “After receiving a report that found the BOD level is slightly high, we requested the people of Siliguri not to take the supply water for drinking purposes until further notice. ”
Amid the massive water crisis, people in Siliguri were spotted standing in long queues before private drinking water suppliers to buy water on Thursday.
