Private borewell proves a saviour for residents of Somarasanahalli

Water is being drawn from a private borewell, with connection to a small water tank on the outskirts of Somarasanahalli.

The water problem in Somarasanahalli in Shapoor Gram Panchayat has aggravated over the last two years. The water tanks installed in two different places in the village have not had any supply for the last one-and-a-half years. The residents staged a protest in front of the gram panchayat on two occasions demanding water. In response, two new borewells were sunk barely a few months ago, but to no avail, creating further problems for the residents.

Connection to a private well, as a last resort, has helped a little, but this is the single source of water here, making things worrisome. People come from all directions in and around the village to collect water. Women carrying water pots on their heads and hips and men riding bicycles with pots hanging from the sides is a common sight.

The people struggle all the more due to power cuts. In conversation with Deccan Herald, Parvathamma, Sarojamma and Padmamma, said, helplessly, “The water tank has supply from 11 pm till 1 am and in the afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. It is difficult and even dangerous to collect water at this time, as we have to tolerate either scorching sunlight or lack of street lights, but we are forced to weather all this to get water.”
Again, if the power supply too is irregular, the only resort is to travel all the way till Neelakanthapura, Nandamballi or other neighbouring villages, which are at least a couple of kilometres away.
If insufficient supply forces them to go to nearby farms to take water, they do so bracing themselves for a round of abuse from the farm owners. Ramesh, another resident said the chief executive officer of the Zilla Panchayat and the Deputy Commissioner had visited the village recently to take note of the conditions.

“Lakhs of rupees were spent to build the tanks, which are already dry. Many villages have houses built at ground level, with the hope that we would get water in the household taps. But the efforts seem futile,” rued Achappa and Ramesh.
The borewells have long gone dry. Water is not available even in the new borewells. Water supply through tankers is going on for several months. “We are all struggling for want of enough water and hope the authorities act immediately,” they added.