In Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, the severe shortage of water is a never-ending plight for the villagers. As the situation is getting critical, people from towns are using water supplied through tankers but those living in rural areas are among the worst-hit, said a GoNews report.
In both the states, people are holding demonstrations against water shortage nearly every day now. Some villagers have to walk up to 20 kms to get clean drinking water at times and some are even consuming water from gutters, said the report.
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In certain places, people are digging the ground to get water. Now, groundwater has gone below 200 feet in some areas. Earlier, it used to be available even at 50 feet below the ground, said the report.
Dantewada, Bastar and Jabalpur in Chhattisgarh are the worst hit areas. In Jabalpur, reports of clashes surfaced due to which water is being distributed only in the presence of police.
There are 12 water reservoirs in Chhattisgarh which have the capacity to produce 4,230 crore cubic metres of water. But according to Central Water Commission, there are only 965 crore cubic metres of water (23 per cent) in these reservoirs presently.
In Madhya Pradesh, there are nearly 65 dams which have almost dried up, 39 tanks have 10 per cent or less water stock, a top official at the Madhya Pradesh Water Resources Department (MPWRD) told NDTV.
A UN report has said by 2050 Madhya Pradesh water level will reduce further. Reducing groundwater level, shortage of drinking water and drying up of rivers will cause distress in MP in the near future.