Archive · 27 Aug 2026
Officials Visit Fluoride-Affected Rolugunta After Water Crisis Report
People in Rolugunta have struggled to get safe drinking water for about 25 years.
Around 250 families are affected.
Officials visited the area after a newspaper reported the problem.
The villagers asked for water tankers right away.
They also want a permanent water system.
Older borewells and pipelines stopped working after sand mining affected groundwater.
A previous ₹6 crore water project did not move forward, so its funds were withdrawn.
Officials said they would send a report suggesting short-term and long-term solutions.
Anakapalle MPDO Nageswara Rao and panchayat secretary A.E. Ramesh Babu visited Rolugunta after a Deccan Chronicle report on its water crisis.
About 250 families in Rolugunta’s Erukula tribal, Dalit, and poor communities reportedly lack safe drinking water.
Residents requested immediate tanker deliveries while authorities pursue a permanent water-supply solution.
Earlier borewells and a one-lakh-litre tank stopped serving the village after sand mining affected groundwater supplies.
A fresh ₹6 crore Amrut Dhara proposal is awaiting approval after earlier Jal Jeevan Mission funds were withdrawn due to insufficient progress.
- Who
- Anakapalle MPDO Nageswara Rao, panchayat secretary A.E. Ramesh Babu, and residents of Rolugunta, including Erukula tribal and Dalit families.
- What
- Officials inspected a long-running safe-drinking-water shortage and considered immediate tanker supplies and permanent solutions.
- When
- Thursday, August 27; the article does not specify the year.
- Where
- The Dalit and Erukula tribal colony in Rolugunta, Anakapalli district, near the Varaha River at Janakirampuram.
- Why
- A Deccan Chronicle report highlighted the crisis, prompting the officials’ visit; residents said groundwater supplies had been affected by sand mining and quarrying.
- Affected location
- Rolugunta in Anakapalli district
- Affected households
- About 250 Erukula tribal, Dalit, and poor families
- Reported duration
- Residents said they had awaited safe drinking water for 25 years
- Immediate request
- Water supplied by tankers until a permanent solution is implemented
- Earlier project
- ₹6 crore was sanctioned under the Jal Jeevan Mission in 2021–22, but the funds were later withdrawn
- Current proposal
- A fresh ₹6 crore proposal under the Amrut Dhara scheme is awaiting approval
- Officials’ response
- MPDO Nageswara Rao said he would submit a detailed report with short- and long-term solutions