Rajkot Jamnagar Junagadh Districts Water Shortage News Saurashtra India

Water Resources Minister Nitin Patel had recently announced in the Assembly that the Gujarat State government had made Gujarat “free of tanker water supply”. But people in Saurashtra can still be found waiting for tankers for their share of water.

With the onset of summer, as many as 21 small cities in Rajkot District, Jamnagar District and Amreli District in Saurashtra are being supplied drinking water on alternate days.

Besides, the Junagadh Municipal Corporation has started to cut the water supply twice a week and Jodiya in Jamnagar district is getting supply once in three days. The situation in Amreli city is no different.

Last year’s inadequate monsoon coupled with scorching heat in the beginning of this summer has led to 40 of the 55 dams in the region hitting rock bottom. With the water level in wells and borewells also going down, people have been left with on option but to wait for water tankers provided by the local administration.

Rajkot District Collector H Patel said: “Water tankers have been pressed into service in three talukas (Wankaner, Jasdan and Jetpur) and the collectorate is ready with action plan for each village. At some places, where underground water is still available, the administration is installing hand pumps and borewells.”

He added that two control rooms — one each at Rajkot City and Morbi City— will be set up soon, and that more tankers will be allotted based on requirement.

Meanwhile, Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Dinesh Brahmbhatt has ordered to stop the sale of Narmada water for commercial purposes. According to Corporation officials, water in three major dams in the city will last up to June.

In Jamnagar district, the administration has begun supplying water through tankers in nine villages. One of the three dams supplying water to Junagadh city has dried up. From Thursday, JMC is supplying water five days a week. It has also started supplying tankers in areas like Joshipara, Timbavadi, Sargwada and Sabalpur, which depended on underground water.

Amreli city has been the worst-hit as it is getting supply once in 10 days. “The Collectorate has prepared an action plan. Villages will be supplied water by tankers as per the requirement,” said Amreli District Collector R R Raval.