Hyderabad reels under acute water shortage as monsoon plays truant

HYDERABAD: “By the end of 2017, our government will ensure supply of drinking water to every nook and corner of Hyderabad every day,” declared Telangana minister for municipal administration KT Rama Rao at a government function last week.

But his pledge came with a rider: “This is subject to good monsoon this year,” Rao, who is chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s son, said.

The reality, however, under the scorching sun in the state’s capital Hyderabad is markedly different. Far from being watersufficient, the city is croaking under an acute water shortage with residents being forced to stand in long queues to collect water.

“Forget daily water supply. We are lucky to get water for a few hours every alternate day,” says an exasperated V Phani, a resident of Puppalguda in the city’s outskirts.

Rains have played truant and almost all major reservoirs that cater to the drinking water needs of the bustling metropolis are running dangerously low. The water level in Nagarjunasagar – one of the major sources of water – was down to just 506 feet on April 22, as against 590 feet when the reservoir is full. Despite falling below the minimum drawdown level of 510 feet, the increasingly desperate authorities are still pumping out water from the lake using heavy pressure pumping machines.

Quenching the thirst of Hyderabadis so far have been supplies from the Krishna, Godavari and Manjira rivers and the Osmansagar reservoir. Himayatsagar, the other major reservoir, has completely dried up. “But this accounts for only 60-70% of the drinking water demand of the city,” pointed out an official of the water supply board. “As many as 12 new drinking water storage tanks are getting ready. But unless there is good rain to fill them up, the plans to augment the supply will remain a pipedream,” he added.

Ironically, Telangana finds itself in the grip of a crippling water shortage despite experiencing more than average rainfall during the last south-west monsoon season. It rained 912 mm as against the normal average of 713.5 mm. But the rain was not uniform across the state and occurred mostly at the fag end of the monsoon, making matters worse.

According to data of the Telangana state development planning society, the state had a deficit rainfall of minus 6 percent till August 2016. The late rainfall in Kharif season helped the Rabi crop. But due to the dry spell, Rabi crops withered in several areas.