Filtered drinking water remains elusive in many West Godavari villages

By Sharon Thambala Kalla (Andhra Pradesh), Dec 8 : At a time when people are pointing fingers at the quality of drinking water in Eluru and its vicinity, amid other things, as the culprit for giving rise to the mysterious illness rattling West Godavari district headquarters, it is pertinent to understand the decades long struggles numerous villages in this district are going through, bereft of filtered drinking water.
Located on the west side of the Godavari river in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, West Godavari is a lush green rice bowl, whose agriculture is nurtured by the irrigation system laid by legendary British engineer Sir Arthur Cotton more than a century ago.
Blessed by the Godavari river, major part of the district has abundant supply of water all through the year, barring the summer season.
“Though we have plenty of water, we do not have filtered drinking water. The water supplied by the panchayati tank is not fit for drinking and this has been the case for more than three decades now,” Vantabathina Prakash, a resident of Kalla village, told IANS.
This village is not alone, as there are several like this. Two more adjacent villages to Kalla, Seesali and Doddanapudi, have the same problem.
Achanta, Undrajavaram and several other villages have no respite from this scourge as government after government and the panchayati officials turned a blind eye to their plight.