from the New Indian Express
One pot of water a day. That’s what each family of Vadgaon village in Belagavi’s Khanapur taluk is allowed to fill from the village well.
And if they take an extra pot of water, they are fined Rs 500. All because of water scarcity in Vadgaon and parts of north Karnataka reeling under the worst-ever drought this year.
The fast-depleting water table has forced the Vadgaon gram panchayat to enforce this rule. Though the village has two wells, drawing water from one well affects the level in the other.
This led to fights. So the panchayat stepped in and ruled that water can be drawn from only one well. Sunil Shankar Desai, a gram panchayat member, said, “The water from Kusmalli village to Vadgaon is too polluted and unfit for even bathing.”
Tankers too costly for villagers
Water tankers used to come earlier to Vadgaon and charged D10 per pot. Tanker owners would demand at least D800. The government provides D348 per tanker, but it’s too less for the tanker owners. Because of the cost, the villagers stopped the service.