Kottayam: Situated picturesquely on the eastern mountain ranges running through the borders of Kottayam district at an altitude of 2,500 ft above sea level is Chakirimedu, a remote village in Koruthode panchayat. One can relish a panoramic view of Ponkunnam and Kanjirappally towns and their environs, located at a distance of about 30 kilometers, from the top of this hilly tract.
This rich and varied scenery is sure to captivate tourists, but there is something that may put them off as well. The village is grappling with severe water scarcity and it is a recurring scene every summer. The 25 families at the rehabilitation colony constructed around 15 years ago are now offering prayers to rain gods as the public pond in the village, their only source of water, has dried up.
The water source dug up at the behest of a philanthropic woman - Thodukaparayil Karthyayani Amma - for local residents about six years ago has now reduced to a 20 feet deep pit overrun with shrubs and thorny bushes.
It will take about one hour to fill a pot with the drops of water from the natural spring in the bottom of the water basin. Women are seen waiting for hours for their turn to get inside the pit and collect those precious drops. Come summer, the authorities would promise the residents that the pond would be renovated, but they would conveniently forget the assurance during every monsoon season.
Huge water tanks can be spotted in front of every house in the area. But, before reaching the half way point of summer, the stored water has been exhausted. The residents, mostly daily-wage laborers, are now forced to purchase water paying exorbitant charges. A tank of 1,500 liters of water is sold for Rs 800 in the area.
“Our children bathe only once in three days now. The panchayat has constructed a huge tank along the main road, but there is not a drop of water in it. There is an anganwadi in the area. In order to provide safe drinking water to the children, the teacher routinely digs into her own pocket,” said a resident.
The previous government had provided 3 cents of land each to 68 landless families as part of a rehabilitation scheme. However, apart from two families, all the others refused to relocate due to the acuter water scarcity prevailing in the area. The patches of the dry and barren land allocated to the remaining 66 families now lie abandoned. Many people who live in rented homes do not want to construct a house there due to lack of basic amenities including water supply.
The situation is more or less similar in most of the hilly areas under the ambit of Kanjirappally taluk. The launch of the Jalanidhi rural water supply scheme has come as a huge relief for the panchayats of Parathode and Koottickal grama panchayats. Even if people are willing to buy water from private suppliers, there are no proper roads to reach these areas.
When the water crisis worsens during summer months, panchayats do make arrangements to supply water in tanker lorries in these areas, but it won’t be enough to fulfill even their basic needs. They now rely on rivers and streams located several kilometers away to wash clothes and bathe.
The reality is that various drinking water schemes proposed by local administrations do not quench the thirst of people living in hilly areas as the quantity of water provided through these projects is negligible.
The solution lies in effective rain water harvesting and construction of ferrocement tanks.
Unfortunately, most of the panchayats have not yet taken the cue to make use of rainwater harvesting as a potential alternative. The residents have been demanding setting up of tanks in each house in the locality to ensure adequate water supply in the coming summer seasons.
Read: Kottayam News | Kerala News
