Mundgod: Karavalli village in Mundgod taluk of Uttara Kannada district has been grappling with a severe drinking water crisis for the past three months. Villagers allege that all borewells in the village have dried up completely and not a single drop of water is available, yet the panchayat authorities and concerned officials have failed to address the situation.
According to residents, the panchayat was expected to supply water tankers to the village on a daily basis. However, owing to the alleged negligence of the Chowdalli Panchayat PDO, only one tanker is being sent every week, with each household receiving merely 10 pots of water. Villagers questioned how an entire family could survive for a whole week on such a limited quantity of water.
Distressed over the worsening crisis, women from the village staged a protest by placing water pots on the roadside in the presence of media personnel. They said the meagre quantity of water supplied has to be used not only for drinking, but also for cooking, washing utensils and cleaning clothes, making daily life extremely difficult.
The protesters said the village’s only pond has also dried up completely. As a result, residents are being forced to plead with farmers for one or two pots of water from their fields. However, the farmers too have reportedly expressed their inability to help regularly, stating that their ginger and other crops are themselves suffering due to water scarcity.
Several women broke down while narrating their ordeal, saying the crisis had become so severe that they had not been able to bathe for the past 15 to 20 days.
Villagers expressed hope that with the issue now highlighted in the media, the district administration would recognise the gravity of the situation and take immediate steps to ensure adequate water supply to the village.