Koleri: More than 80 families in Valancherry and Moscow Kunnu areas in Poothadi panchayat, Wayanad, have been struggling due to severe drinking water shortage as the water distribution from the Jala Nidhi project has stopped. The families are getting exasperated as they have been trying hard to arrange drinking water for more than four weeks now.

Although the residents in these areas have urged the authorities to promptly solve this issue, the panchayat and the managers of the Jala Nidhi have not taken any action yet. Meanwhile, the employees at the nearby Anganwadi in Valancherry too are struggling due to the lack of drinking water. The people complain that no one cares even to attend the phone at the Jala Nidhi office and the panchayat members keep promising that they would solve the issue soon. 

The families that took water connection under the Jala Nidhi project are now forced to draw water from the nearby private wells and then carry buckets of water on their head. The current water shortage in the area particularly affects the daily lives of children and the elderly.