An uphill struggle for drinking water in Vijayawada

Vijayawada hill residents face summer water scarcity, demand daily supply from elected representatives for basic needs.

For the people living in the hilly area near RCM Church in Christurajapuram of Vijayawada, falling under the East Assembly Constituency, summer is an agonising time. From March-end to June, they have to deal with not only the scorching heat, but also irregular supply of water.

While the town planning section of the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) is yet to conduct a population survey atop the hill, locals say the more than 3,000 families reside there.

While well-to-do families occupy the lower part of the hill close to the road, the upper areas are mostly populated by daily wagers, who cannot afford to rent a house downhill in the city, where prices are astronomical, according to real estate agents.

Residents are aware that though living atop the hill is affordable, it still comes at a price.

“We did not come to live here willingly, but where else do we go? This is where we can have a house of our own, and we can live without the fear of being asked to vacate,” says Yesu, a lorry driver.

However, as the terrain is sloping, the houses located in the upper part of the hill get inadequate water supply during the summer. “We have only two main demands from our elected representatives — getting water on an everyday basis, and having proper streetlights in place,” said Mr. Yesu, whose residence, along with 70 other houses, has always had patchy water supply.

Most of the dwellers here belong to the Madiga community. They work menial jobs that keep them away from home for most of the day. The responsibility of filling the 200-litre drums then falls on their children, who have only half an hour to do so, from 5.30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Should they slack off and forget to fill up the drums, they will have to go without water for the next 24 hours. The water is used not just for drinking but also for other household needs.