About Drought Relief - Water for Parched Villages

ABOUT DROUGHT RELIEF

WATER FOR PARCHED VILLAGES…

T

AN INITI ATI VE FRO M COROMANDEL I NTER NATION AL LTD AND WAS SAN FOR SUPPLYING WATE R TANKERS TO 5 VILLAGES I N K ARIMNAGAR DISTRICT, WHERE WATER STORAGE IS FOUND TO BE S EVERE, DUE TO DROUGHT AND HEAT WAVE IN TELANGANA. THIS WAS INI TI ATED ON 2 N D MAY 2016 AND LIKELY TO CONTI N UE TI LL 30 MAY. MS. GEETA REDDY AND DR . K. S ATI SH KUMAR ARE COOR DINATI NG THI S INITI ATI VE. he Summer of 2016 is one of the worst summers and the heat wave is sweeping the country, particularly Telangana. Water

scarcity for drinking and domestic

purposes is one of the most felt needs of rural

women in this distress conditions. Water and fodder for livestock is also important concerns of

the day. Given this background, Coromandel

International Ltd took the initiative to offer its

support to selected villages and offer a relief to the families that are suffering most. Coromandel International

Ltd.,

approached

WASSAN,

Hyderabad for facilitating this process. WASSAN

is a resource support organization working for community based natural resource

management and livelihoods. WASSAN agreed to partner with this initiative and support the cause.

After some internal discussions between Coromandel International Ltd and WASSAN, five villages are

selected for this purpose. (Table No 1). WASSAN conducted preliminary meetings with the Grama Panchayat members, women and leaders of the selected villages, to understand the situation and

devise the relief program. These meetings helped to understand that several households have acute

shortage of water and livestock is also suffering, as there is water scarcity. Each village has different number of families ranging from 237 in Padhira to 1157 families in Veenapally. Based on this, it was

proposed to supply the following number of tanks/ village/ day. During the discussions, WASSAN team members – Dr. Satish and Ms Geeta clearly indicated that this water should go to deserving families/ wards of the village and each family should boil the water before drinking. This was agreeable to the Grama Panchayat members and they agreed to give a resolution about the protocols of water distribution in the village.

About Drought Relief – Water for Parched Villages May 2, 2016

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ABOUT DROUGHT RELIEF Table No 1: Proposed Villages under this Initiative in Karminagar District S.

Village name

No 1

No. HH

Padhira

237

2

Dumalla

600

4

Veernapally

1157

3 5

Garjanpally Kancherla

No. tankers to be supplied/ day 1

2

560

2

346

1

3

After these initial discussions, the water distribution program was formally inaugurated in three village

today (2 May 2016). The water tankers were supplied to three villages today. The details of this today’s program is presented in Table No 2.

Table No 2: Details of Inauguration of Water Supply to Selected Villages in Karimnagar District, Telangana.

Village

Opened by

Inaugurated by

Garjanpally

N Narsayya

Kancherla

Raju Sarpanch

Veernapally

T Agayya ZPTC

Karobar, GP Raju, Ward Member Ms Sajeevalaxmi, Sarepanch; Raju GP Secretary

Locality that gets water tank

Time of Supply

No of Tankers supplied

BC Colony, 2nd Ward

Evening Time

1 Nos -

8th Ward

8 AM

1 Nos (40 families)

SC Colony

10.30 to 11 AM after MGNREGS works are completed.

1 Nos (50 families)

50 families next day

While inaugurating the water supply tanker today, Shri T Agayya ZPTC appreciated the efforts made by

development agencies like WASSAN in reaching out to the need villages and also thanked Coromandel International Ltd for supporting this initiative. He advised the villagers to be judicious in water use and

not to waste the same. Ms Sajeevalaxmi, Sarpanch (Veernapally) also joined him in thanking the supporters and facilitators of this initiative and promised that villagers would be disciplined in taking

water from the tankers and they do not create any conflicts among the villagers. She thought that such support systems are essential during critical times and this helps the families to lead a decent life.

About Drought Relief – Water for Parched Villages May 2, 2016

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ABOUT DROUGHT RELIEF Ms Geeta (WASSAN) requested to Grama Panchayat members, ward members and other leaders to

take the responsibility of monitoring the water supply and distribution so that the deserving families get adequate support, during this period. Members of Grama Panchayat agreed to give a resolution to

WASSAN indicating their willingness and protocols for water supply in their village. Similar processes

are observed in remaining two villages also, where they received water through tankers today. Men

and women who gathered near the designated places to collect water indicated their preferred times for water collection. These decisions/ preferences are to be integrated into the resolutions of the Grama Panchayat.

Ms Geeta also requested the representatives of Mandal level Government officers, who were present

in the occasion, to help in the process of conducting a test on water quality. The government officers agreed to facilitate this and water samples would be submitted at Government Lab, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Karimnagar, within two days.

This support is likely to go for a month (May 2016) in these villages. The two remaining villages also get water from tomorrow onwards. Though it is drop in the ocean, every drop counts.

About Drought Relief – Water for Parched Villages May 2, 2016

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