With the demand for water tankers increasing this season, many officers find it challenging to ensure water supply to wild animals.
Published Date – 2 April 2024, 07:12 PM
File photo of a saucer pit
Hyderabad: This summer, Forest officials are struggling to quench the thirst of wild animals due to dearth of funds and limited staff.
The field level staff is urging gram panchayats, local district administration and Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) for support. Generally, during summer, forest personnel use water tankers to fill up the artificial saucer pits established in the jungles to ensure water availability for wild animals. These tankers are arranged from nearby villages. However, with the demand for water tankers increasing this season, many officers were finding it challenging to ensure water supply.
There are nearly 8,500 water holes, including ponds, streams etc in the forests across the State. Of these, 6,135 are artificial water holes like saucer pits, percolation tanks and check dams and among them, 5,370 are in working condition. Depending on the size, each saucer pits capacity ranges from 750 litres to 4000 litres. Field level staff members have to engage water tankers to fill up the saucer pits in their respective beats. Officials have to shell out at least Rs.500 for a 2,500 litre-tanker.
With limited funding from the department, it is turning into a challenge for the staff to arrange tankers.
“Apart from the meager funds from the department, we have to request the nearby gram panchayats to supply water tankers,” said a District Forest Officer.
Considering the demand for water tankers, arranging them on a daily basis is another task. At times, a few officers are forced shell out the tanker charges from their personal savings, the officer said.
In a few places, forest officials are requesting district collectors to support the expenditure, while others are coordinating with ITDA for support. Despite all these arrangements, many water tanker operators are not keen on supplying water, citing inaccessible locations, poor roads, fear of vehicle breakdowns and repairs etc and tend to demand excess charges. With limited staff, it is tough on the beat level staff to check water availability in each saucer pit on a daily basis. All these issues were explained to the senior officials at a meeting recently.
On the contrary, senior officials said measures were being taken to fill up 4,000 pits every day. This apart, efforts would be made to map all the available water resources and ensure water supply accordingly.
Considering all these factors, the department was constructing solar powered borewells in the forests. There was a requirement of nearly 2,000 solar powered borewells across the State and till date 413 have been established. It costs about Rs.6 lakh to establish one unit, said a senior official.
