The reason residents of these hamlets give for postponement of weddings is non-availability of water
The tussle between officials of Mission Bhagiratha and forest department has led residents of 10 adivasi habitations in Paloncha and Aswaraopet mandals of Bhadradri-Kothagudem district to postpone weddings this summer, a report in the Deccan Chronicle says.
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The reason residents of these hamlets give for postponement of weddings is non-availability of water.
Officials of Mission Bhagiratha had approved laying of pipelines to these habitations to supply drinking water all through the year; more so in summer,
Locals say adivasis have to travel a kilometre or two to fetch water, as rivulets and streams; apart from bore-wells, go dry. Tribal people heavily bank on regular water supply through Mission Bhagiratha pipelines.
However, forest department official have not given permission for the water pipelines through the forest. They maintain that the 10 habitations have come up illegally in the reserve forest, with people migrating there from neighbouring Chhattisgarh district. They maintain that permission for water pipelines will legitimise these habitations.
Subsequently, they may even resort to podu cultivation by burning down forests, thereby destroying the reserve forests.
Locals say adivasis have to travel a kilometre or two to fetch water, as rivulets and streams apart from bore-wells go dry. Tribal people heavily bank on regular water supply through Mission Bhagiratha pipelines.
A forest official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Giving permission for the pipeline is like inviting danger to forests. Thousands of acres of reserve forests have already vanished because of such people taking up podu cultivation.”
Habitations affected are Regella, Jilledipoga, Thimmapur, Ramanakkapet Colony, Uduthaminda, Peddamidya and Moddulamadi in Aswaraopet mandal and Busurai, Chiruthanipadu and Rallachelaka in Paloncha mandal. About 900 people live in these habitats. They possess ration cards and voter identity cards, but not water facilities.
Madaka Kanna, resident of Thimmapur in Aswaraopet mandal, said, “It is a fact that due to lack of water, we will not hold weddings during summer. There are one or two borewells near the habitations. But they go dry and no water can be drawn from them during summers. We will perform the weddings after rains, when streams start flowing with water.”
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