BELAGAVI: With most borewells and open wells drying up due to the worsening drought situation, people are being forced to risk their lives and limbs just for a potful of water. At Kasnal village of Chikkodi taluk, the situation is dire. Here women, unmindful of their safety, descend a 100-ft deep open well to bring back water.

Most families in this tiny village of 2,000 households completely depend on this lone well where the water has receded completely. The women scrape the bottom of the well to fill pots of water.Sources in Manakapur Gram Panchayat, under which the village falls, said alternative facility to supply water to Kasnal villagers could not be done due to paucity of funds. Most borewells have become defunct, while water has totally dried up in other sources in and around the village, sources added.

After it failed to come to the support of Kasnal villagers for weeks, the local administration has at last decided to make alternative arrangements to provide water. Chikkodi tahsildar Dr Santosh Biradar said water crisis is worsening in several rural belts due to the receding water level in the wells. “To Kasnal village, we will provide water through tankers,” he said.

Kasnal residents question the inability of local GP members to tackle the crisis. They said Chikkodi taluk administration has failed to take note of the water crisis in several villages.