Babaleshwar (KTK), May 9 (PTI) With irregular water supply and taps without water connections, lives of residents in around five villages in Karnataka’s Babaleshwar assembly constituency in Vijayapura district have been impacted for the last five years.
While some villages get an hour’s supply of water once in a day, some others receive the same once in four days and some, once in eight days.
The residents who live in the villages of Itangihal, Baratagi, Kanamuchanal and Karad Doddi, accused the administration of negligence and claimed “no attention has been paid to the water problem” despite multiple complaints.
“The politicians visit these areas only during elections. However, no big leader visited our villages this time. They don’t consider water supply as an issue,” some residents of Baratagi village said.
Laxmi, a resident of one of the Lambani villages in Baratagi, said the problem has been persisting for several years and that the supply of water comes once in a day for an hour.
She further said that despite setting up taps outside every home in the village, the administration has failed to provide water connection there.
“This problem has been here for several years. There is bare minimum water supply here. The supply comes once in a day, that too for an hour. They have set up taps here in the entire village around one and a half years ago and said there will be sufficient water supply but none of the taps here work,” Laxmi told PTI.
Another resident Sharda residing at Lambani Thanda in Baratagi village claimed that they get supply of water once in two days.
“We get water once every two days. We have been managing our household chores in this manner with bare minimum water supply for years now. There is just one common tap for 200 people living in this Thanda,” she said.
Kashibai, a 77-year-old resident of Kanamuchanal village alleged that officials from the administration had also visited the area assuring residents of water supply every day but the “problem remains the same.” “There is no water supply here. We get water from another Thanda. If we talk about problems, there are problems in basic facilities here. We have complained to the administration several times but nobody paid attention to our issues yet,” Kashibai alleged.
Rameez, a resident of another Thanda in Kanamuchanal, claimed there was supply of water once a week and that residents there walk to other Thandas to get water for daily use.
“There is no water supply. We have access to water once every eight days. How are we supposed to manage everything with one hour of water supply in a week? We walk to other Thandas for water even as they have limited supply too,” Rameez said.
The problem of water in the villages of Babaleshwar constituency persists, even as the incumbent MLA and Congress candidate M B Patil was the Minister for water resources in Siddaramaiah-led cabinet (2013 – 2018).
The Congress, however, blamed the Basavaraj Bommai government for the issue and alleged that funds were not sanctioned by the administration for resolving the water crisis.
“There are villages where there is no water supply for 15 days. In some villages in Babaleshwar, water supply comes twice a month. Even if MB Patil is the incumbent MLA, his hands are tied because the Bommai government never sanctioned funds to resolve this crisis,” Congress leader Gourav Vallabh told PTI.
He further said that if voted to power, the Congress will fix the water issues in all villages of Babaleshwar “immediately after forming government in the state.” BJP leader from Babaleshwar Uday Kumar Joshi said the villages in the constituency have been ‘neglected’ by the incumbent Congress MLA and that, if voted to power, the BJP will ensure water supply in all villages via “Har Ghar Jal Yojna” (Water for every household scheme).
“There is no doubt that the villages here have been neglected so far. If voted to power, the BJP here will ensure every household gets water supply via the Har Ghar Jal Yojna,” he said. PTI ABU SA
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