RO Plants opened, but purified water yet to reach villages of Andhra Pradesh

SRIKAKULAM: Notwithstanding the promise of the government to provide purified drinking water from Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants to the villages affected by chronic kidney diseases (CKD) in Uddanam region of Srikakulam district, the project remains a non-starter.

After the government’s announcement for the water supply to Uddanam, the officials had hurriedly shifted the material from Kuppam as they were planning to set up the RO plants in Kuppam prior to Uddanam. An MoU was also signed between the government and the NTR Trust to execute the project with the support of Rural Water Supply (RWS) officials.

According to the agreement, as many as seven mother RO plants are to be set up in all mandal headquarters in Uddanam region.  Though the RO plant was ready in Palasa mandal headquarters six months ago, not a single drop of water has been provided to the residents so far.  Same is the case of the mother RO plant in Vajrapukotturu which was inaugurated by Panchayat Raj Minister Nara Lokesh on September 19.

After Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan highlighted the plight of the kidney disease victims in Uddanam, the government had announced to set up RO water plants and supply drinking water to the affected villages with a budgetary allocation of `17 crore. Announcements were made to supply purified drinking water by use of smart cards at Rs 2 per can. The RWS officials had set a deadline of Ugadi (March-end) for the project but failed.

Since then, the project has missed several deadlines and the officials blamed it on technical glitches. “As of now, getting RO water remains a dream. How can we rely on officials? We have no other option, but to wait,” said Kottakota Sudhakar, a resident of Udayapuram in Palasa mandal.  
Recently, Palasa MLA Shivaji raised the issue in the ZP meeting highlighting the delay in the implementation of the project.

“Even more than one and a half months have passed since the mother water plants were inaugurated at Palasa and Vajrapukotturu, the plants are yet to function,” he said. Asked the same, the RWS officials replied that the NTR Trust officials were yet to dispense the smart cards.

District Collector K Dhanjaya Reddy said that he would conduct a meeting soon and ensure that water would be supplied from the plant by the end of November. “The plants are all set to dispense water to Palasa, Vajrapukotturu and Sompeta mandals by the end of this week, while four other mother RO plants at Mandasa, Kaviti, Kanchili and Ichchapuram will be ready by the end of this month,”   said RWS Superintending Engineer Ravi.

Ground reality

Seven mother RO water plants set up for the villages affected by chronic kidney disease in Uddanam  
Govt has allocated H17 crore and signed a pact with NTR Trust for implementation of the project
Mother RO plant was inaugurated at Palasa six months ago and at Vajrapukotturu on September 19
Not a single drop of water has been provided to the villages so far