Water war claims life of another woman

KURNOOL: In a yet another incident that highlights the worsening drinking water crisis in drought-prone Rayalaseema, a woman died in a scuffle at a public tap in Kadamakuntkla of Tuggali mandal in the district. 

This is the second such incident in a span of 10 days. 

On Tuesday, the victim, 43-year-old Padmavathamma, who was waiting in a long queue for water at a gram panchayat tap, had a fierce argument with others. This led to a scuffle. Padmavathamma, who was shoved out of the line by other women, ended up banging her head against a boulder, police said.
She died on the spot. Gram panchayat officials supply water to villagers twice a week. There was a heavy rush at the tap on Tuesday as drinking water supply was made after a gap of four days. 

“A case has been registered and six persons – A Seetarama Raju, Naresh, Nagaraju, Nagarjuna, Sudhakar and Chinna Bandaiah – were taken into custody for the woman’s death. A police picket has been set up in the village to prevent any untoward incident,’’ Pathikonda circle inspector Bhaskar Reddy said.

Pathikonda segment, represented by Deputy Chief Minister KE Krishna Murthy, is one of worst-affected drought-hit area in the district. Not only Kadamakuntla, almost every area in the region, including Pathikonda, face a similar problem. 
“Despite parties and officials promising to provide drinking water with the help of different schemes, the supply is not sufficient,’’ a villager said.

It may be recalled that 25-year-old Moulabi was killed when she tried to stop a fight between her parents and neighbours over drinking water in Kurnool city on May 10. 
Meanwhile, allegations were rife that Rural Water Supply department’s careless attitude was the reason for water scarcity in the district. The department has not repaired defunct borewells, and instead was heavily relying on water tankers, it is learnt.