Pali reels under severe water shortage as most resources have dried

JAIPUR: Pali district is facing the worst water crisis due to drying up of almost all sustainable water resources in the last decade. The extreme hot weather since March has forced the administration to provide water almost every 4 to 10 days. Even the special train carrying 7 megalitres per day (MLD) from Jodhpur is barely meeting the basic demand, farmers have been asked to arrange water from the wells.
Protests under the scorching 45 degrees temperature have become a daily affair. The water in the Pali district is primarily supplied from the Jawai Sagar dam, which is facing an acute shortage of water due to below-average rainfall in the past 2 years.
Areas like Rohat, Sojat, Shivganj and Sumerpur are receiving water at a gap of 4-10 days. The situation has reached a point where several villages have failed to receive water from the local administration in the past 15 to 20 days, leaving them to fend for themselves.
“The daily requirement in the district is 24 MLD against the 7 MLD being received through the train from Jodhpur. Additionally, we are sourcing 70-80 tankers from Indira Gandhi Nahar Project (IGNP) while 25 tankers are brought from the Narmada River project in Jalore. The remaining water is arranged from multiple sources to provide water,” said Pali ADM Chandrabhan Singh Bhati.
Pali district collector Namit Mehta has banned the supply of drinking water in industrial areas. He directed the local body counsellors and waterworks department to carry out intensive water testing to ensure the supplied water is suitable for drinking.
Many donors in the district have helped by donating 100 water tanks of 2,000 litres each in different mohallas. The civil society members have chosen areas, which are close to hand pumps and tube wells to store water in the tanks. Along with water tanks, the residents are providing water through water tankers in places where local administration has failed to reach out.