Basar IIIT has extended its Dasara holidays until November 17 after a breakdown in the pumping system supplying drinking water from the Godavari intake well left the campus receiving only about half of its daily requirement, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
Only one of the three pumping motors at the intake well has reportedly been functioning for the past few days, while repairs to the other two have been delayed. Mission Bhagiratha officials have proposed installing new motors, and the proposal has been sent to district officials for consideration.
The shortage is affecting a campus with about 9,000 students and 1,000 staff members. Basar IIIT has an existing reservoir with a capacity of 800 million litres, intended to provide drinking water during emergencies. However, only about 10 per cent of that capacity is currently filled, according to the report.
Basar IIIT vice-chancellor Prof A Govardhan said the campus needs between 20 lakh and 22 lakh litres of water each day for drinking and other purposes, but is receiving about 10 lakh litres through the current supply arrangement. He said the institution extended the students’ holidays because it could not provide adequate water and did not want to supply muddy water.
The campus administration has also warned that the shortage could become more severe in March and April if the pumping and storage situation does not improve. The warning comes as water levels in the Godavari and the Sri Ram Sagar Project reservoir are reported to be declining.
Basar IIIT director of estates Rajeshwar said each student requires about 136 litres of water per day, putting the students’ requirement at approximately 15 lakh litres daily. He said the campus is currently relying on the backwaters of the Sri Ram Sagar Project, but that the reservoir level is falling day by day.
According to Rajeshwar, the intake well can pump about 2 million litres of water a day using two motors to fill the campus reservoir. The institution has sought three new 65-horsepower motors, while Mission Bhagiratha officials have forwarded a proposal to district authorities.
The report also attributes the reduced water availability to the absence of inflows into the Godavari from Maharashtra following the closure of the Babli gates. It states that there is currently no water supply from the Sri Ram Sagar Project’s regular system and that the campus is using only the reservoir’s backwaters.
The immediate response now depends on the proposed replacement motors and the district administration’s decision on the infrastructure request. Until pumping capacity and reservoir storage improve, the campus will continue to face a gap between its daily water requirement and available supply.
