Helpless Karatti residents drink filthy water

Residents of Karatti village are living in a helpless situation. The only source of water for the village is a well and the recent rains have contaminated the well water, thereby throwing about 50 families in the village into dire straits.

Karatti village comes in Sathihalli GP limits and this village has majority of SC/ST population. With the aim of providing drinking water to the village, a well was dug near Government High School about 25 years ago by the Zilla Panchayat. A pump was installed to supply water to the villagers. However, during rainy season, the rainwater carrying sewage and waste flows into the well because the well is dug in a steep. Further, since the boundary wall of the well has collapsed and not yet repaired, the rain water gushes in easily.

Twigs, paper, plastic and even excreta comes flowing into the well contaminating the water.
The incident has repeated itself due to the rains that lashed last week. The water supply to the village has been stopped because the well is filled with dirt and waste.

Since there is no alternate arrangement for drinking water, the residents are drawing the same water and drinking it. The same water is pumped to the school in the village as well. This has been going on for several years and now the residents say that they are used to it because there is no option.

“We drink this water and then fall sick. We are used to it,” says a resident in a light tone.
The residents have brought the situation to the notice of the GP but it has not been taken seriously. Fed up of the apathy, the local youth, this year cleaned up the well through shramadana. They got into the well with the help of ropes and picked all te garbage that has got accumulated in the well.

The residents say that if the boundary wall around the well is built again, then the problem will be solved to a large extent.