Karnataka: People of Gadag stand in queue for six hours to fetch water
Natives of a village in Gadag, Karnataka, begin their day by standing in long queues to fetch a pail of water from government water tank
Gadag: Health experts, more often than not, recommend two litres of water every day. Cocooned in the comfort of city life, we take that bottle of mineral water for granted.
This remote village in north Karnataka is drought-hit with every person hankering for a glass of water.
The water crisis in Kundralli village in Lakshmeshwar, Gadag district of Karnataka, has left the people of the village high and dry. With a population of 2400, villagers are forced to stand in long queues for several hours, squabbling with each other to fetch a pail of water to cater to their everyday needs
Few years ago, the village was home to lakes and live tanks. However, the region has not received good rainfall for the last four years now, and all the water sources and borewells have dried up.
The pure drinking water unit of the village is under repair and many government officials have come to village in the past and promised to solve this crisis, and they just remained empty promises, say locals.
Parched villagers are planning to protest the inaction of authorities.
Karnataka’s water level has hit a new low, according to the Times of India, with its 13 major reservoirs containing only half the total storage capacity. As per Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre’s (KSNDMNC) report, the reservoirs with a cumulative capacity of 82,5000 million cubic feet (tmcft) contains only 155tmcft of water as of May 11.