BELAGAVI: Construction work in Belagavi city and its surrounding areas have taken a hit due to the prevailing water shortage that has now stretched to 90 days, according to officials.
Local administration has urged the public to use water judiciously, given the fast-depleting water levels in the reservoirs. Even the daily scheduled water supply has been delayed.
The Rakaskop reservoir has now been earmarked strictly for supplying water to Belagavi city and for no other purpose. With soaring mercury levels and a decline in the groundwater table, the demand for the govt to provide tanker water is rising by the day.
There are hundreds of under-construction buildings and several at various stages of renovation here. Work on most of these has stopped due to lack of water. Engineers and contracting firms are now racing against time to meet deadlines and ensure that the projects are handed over to the end-users on time. Procuring tanker water has resulted in a cost-overrun for these projects.
Shridhar, a building contractor at Nehru Nagar, said only borewell or tanker is allowed as the source of water for construction work. “At present, work on only those projects that have their own borewells is continuing,” he said. While some are drilling borewells, the water in the borewells itself is also insufficient as groundwater plummets, he further explained. “This has forced everyone to depend on tankers, the demand for which has increased manifold,” he added.
Builders at Shahapur in Tilakwadi said they had started a project in June 2023, but since this Feb, there has been an acute shortage of water. They also said while the price of a 5,000-litre tanker was between Rs 800 and Rs 900 earlier, it has now gone up to Rs 1,500. “Construction work has been hampered and the completion of the building will be delayed further,” they said.
BCC officials said water board officials have been instructed not to supply any more tanker water for construction work until water starts flowing into the reservoirs again.
NR Latur, the president of the unorganised construction workers’ union, said the prevailing drought situation has not only made life difficult for farmers, but also for those in the construction sector.
