With the onset of summer, people have to once again face a water crisis. On one hand, the Karnataka government is attempting to divert the Mhadei River water, on which the Opa water treatment plant in Ponda depends, and on the other hand, there is rampant degradation and destruction of water resources, including hills, in Ponda taluka despite the area being a pre-dominantly agrarian, tourist place. There is no stop to these activities despite people agitating on the streets to protest the same.
In summer, the water consumption rises, while the water level decreases. Sometimes there is a scarcity of drinking water and there are droughts in villages and towns. The situation was different two to three decades ago, when water resources were abundant even in summer.
Today, in many places, citizens gherao water supply officials for lack of water supply. Some villages are supplied water through tankers.
The taluka’s water resources, such as wells, springs, nullahs and lakes, were not taken care of by the government after it started providing tap water to the villages.
As the citizens were getting tapped water, there was no more hard work of fetching water from wells or springs. Further, the existing wells started getting polluted, and with increasing urbanization and with a rise in population, there is now a water scarcity.
No steps are being taken to protect the water bodies in Ponda Taluka. If systematic efforts are taken to rejuvenate the lakes, springs and nullahs, Ponda will never experience a paucity of water.
Citizens from Mangeshi and Cuncoliem have expressed fear that they may lose their water resources due to hill levelling activities for housing projects.
