Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Health City Borewells Blamed for Water Crisis in Arilova Colony
Many people who live in a neighborhood called Arilova Colony in the city of Visakhapatnam, India, are running out of clean drinking water.
About 300,000 people are affected, and around 200,000 of them live in slums.
People believe big hospitals in an area called Health City are part of the problem.
The hospitals dug very deep wells, called borewells, that pull water from underground.
Because of this, the wells that residents depended on have dried up.
The problem got worse because there has been very little rain in the past two months.
City officials inspected the hospitals and found many of them had deep borewells.
Even hospitals that get water from the city had dug their own deep wells.
Officials want to check if the hospitals have permission for their wells and may take action against those that broke the rules.
They also plan to check tall apartment buildings that might be using groundwater.
Environmentalists say building the hospital area blocked the streams that fill the city's main water reservoir.
Around three lakh residents of Arilova Colony in Visakhapatnam are facing a drinking water crisis.
Residents and environmentalists allege deep borewells dug by Health City hospitals have affected groundwater availability.
GVMC raids last week found that of 28 hospitals inspected, most had borewells at depths of 350 to 400 feet.
The six hospitals with bulk water connections had also dug deep borewells and were drawing groundwater.
Officials plan checks on 9,000 high-rise residential buildings to determine their dependence on groundwater.
- Who
- Around three lakh residents of Arilova Colony in Visakhapatnam, Health City hospitals, and GVMC officials.
- What
- A drinking water crisis allegedly caused by deep borewells dug by Health City hospitals, which residents and environmentalists say have affected groundwater availability.
- When
- The water shortage has worsened over the past two months due to scanty rainfall; residents say problems began about five years ago, and GVMC raids were conducted last week.
- Where
- Arilova Colony and Health City in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
- Why
- Deep borewells installed by hospitals are alleged to have depleted groundwater, and scanty rainfall has further worsened the shortage.
- Affected residents
- Around three lakh (300,000) in Arilova Colony
- Slum population
- Around two lakh (200,000)
- Hospitals inspected
- 28
- Hospitals with bulk water supply
- 6
- Borewell depth found
- 350 to 400 feet
- High-rise buildings to be checked
- 9,000
- Authority involved
- GVMC (Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation)
- Legal act cited
- Water, Land and Trees (WALTA) Act