A Pot Of Water A Day: That's How People Manage Here In Telangana

Hyderabad: As the heat rises in Telangana, Jagadgirigutta in Rangareddy district is getting drier by the day. On an average, water is supplied here once every 5 days and in the few hours the taps are on, no household manages to fill more than 4 to five pots.

This -- supplemented with drinking water bought from the market -- has to last them till water comes again.

The residents have been reduced to illegally drawing water through pumps to their houses.

The scene at the water pumps has turned chaotic. The tops of the public taps have been sawed off and hoses from every household runs to it - a medley of coloured pipes that sometimes run upto a kilometer. Each tap has to serve at least 50 houses.

Residents say they had been promised water, but nothing has been done since.

"We try everything to get water. For years the borewells here have been running dry. Multiple complaints to the authorities have not worked," Rukesh, one of the residents at Jagadgirigutta told NDTV.

Yadamma expressed her frustration about the authorities' inaction. "Water comes every five to six days. Some can be saved, the rest gets wasted," she said.

The locals say water was once abundant in this area, even though there was only one connection but fewer families.

"Now there are so many families. We have one motor here and another at home. The electricity bill comes up to about Rs. 1,200 - 1,500. So we have to pay the electricity bill and the water bill as well," said Sandhya.

One of the grave concerns of the residents is that the even the meagre water they get is dirty. Insects can plainly be seen in the pots of water. Which is why a chunk of their money go to buy drinking water as well.

The slum dwellers of Rasoolpura, Secunderabad Cantonment Board - 16 km from Jagadgirigutta -- face a similar problem. But while they receive water once every 9 days, families manage to store it in 200-litre containers.