Water dries up in Hyderabad's reservoirs; city sees worst crisis in 30 years

Hyderabad is battling what is now being called the worst water crisis in the last 30 years. According to news reports, all four reservoirs supplying water to the city have dried up.

The state of Telangana is seeing its third successive drought as declared by Telangana's minister for municipal administration KT Rama Rao.

Adding to the misery of the public are the worsening heat wave conditions. Last week, the maximum temperature recorded in the city was 43 degree Celsius.

As per NDTV, the shortage has lead to residents receiving water supply only on alternate days. In the worst-affected areas of Telangana, people are travelling long distances to fetch water.

Rao, who is the son of Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhara Rao and is also his minister in charge of Hyderabad, told NDTV that with the Singur, Manjeera, Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar reservoirs going completely dry, the demand and supply for water in the city is seeing a 47 per cent gap. Against a demand of 660 million gallons, the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is reportedly supplying 335 million gallons of water per day.

"There just isn't enough water to go around," the minister said, adding that distress sale of cattle by farmers and labour migration from parched villages to cities like Hyderabad are grave concerns for the government.

As traditional water sources like Himayat Sagar, Osman Sagar, Singur and Manjira reservoirs are no longer able to sustain city's supply water, the dependency now has shifted to the Krishna and Godavari rivers.

However, the Nagarjuna Sagar and Yellampally reservoirs across these rivers have reported receding water levels.