Indiscriminate sand mining causes water shortage

Sand is being lifted illegally from Peddavagu

Lifting sand indiscriminately from the streams and rivulets has led to loss of their water storage capacity and a drop in the ground water table in most places in the district, resulting in water shortage both for human and forest animals.

The Peddavagu, for instance, which was a perennial river in the Sirpur (T) constituency, and a major source of drinking water table, fell to 9.6 m in February compared to 8 m in the corresponding period last year.

The drinking water shortage is acute in the tribal areas in the Utnoor and Nirmal divisions compared to other parts of the district.

Majority of the streams and rivulets have dried up much before the summer as they have lost water storage capacity due to indiscriminate sand mining.

Sand mining has been rampant in the river Godavari from Basar to Chennur for many years now, with the sand mafia indirectly controlling the sand business and mining operations in the district.

This has been so desperate the state government’s introduction of the legal auction of sand reachers and officials sale of sand.

Sand mafia is indirectly controlling the sand business and mining in the district. The indiscriminate sand mining was going on unabatedly though the state government introducing legal auction of sand reaches and official sale of sand.

Sand is being lifted from the Peddavagu even in this drought, with the officials turning a blind eye to illegal sand mining continuing in many streams and rivulets these days.

The sand mafia hold the grip on Grampanchayats and village elders by offering some amount and grampanchayats encouraging lifting sand from their streams and rivulets in the name of generating funds for the development of the villages but in turn they were losing their natural resources and becoming victim of their own greedy.

The irony is that farmers of the same grampanchayats which gave permission for lifting sand from the streams and rivulets under its purview facing drinking water problem and not getting sufficient water for their crops due to dried up agriculture wells and bore wells and incurred huge losses.

Adivasis' personal invitation for Nagoba Jatara

Adivasis even today practice traditional customs by extending personal invitation to their clan in the villages in Indravelli and Ichoda mandals for Nagoba Jatara will begin on February 7.

They also gave order to pot maker family for traditional pots to be used in puja to serpentine god Nagoba. 

Mesram clan Adivasis started their journey in a ‘Chekda’ (look like bullock cart) from the temple after performing pujas to het Nagoba by dropping tobacco as mark of tradition on January 12 and returned to temple after covering nearly 100 km on January 19.

As part of their personal invitation, priest of Mesram clan of Adivasis Mesram Hanumanthrao and Pardhanji Mesram Ganapathi visited Sirikonda village in Ichoda and gave order to their ancestral pot maker family for traditional pots and later visited Sunkidi and Dhaba villages.

They also visited Sathmori, Rajampet, Soyamguda, Ginnera and Vadagoan villages in Indravelli and reached Nagoba temple.

On January 20, nearly 100 Adivasis of Mesram clan started their second journey on foot to bring Gangajal from river Godavari near Hastinamadugu in Jannaram mandal to be used in cleaning the idol of the Nagoba. They will return and stay under Baniyan trees near Nagoba temple in Keslapur village in Indravelli mandal on February 3. 

Nagoba temple committee chairman Mesram Thukaram said they have been following the custom of traditional invitation to the people of their clan for Nagoba jatara from time immemorial and added that many traditions and customs were attached to Nagoba temple and Mesram clan of Adivasis. 

The Mesram clan Adivasis will enter the Nagoba temple only February7 evening and perform special puja to serpentine god Nagoba on that night.  

Bridge faces inundation threat

Low lying Rayapatnam bridge and incomplete high level bridge. 

The existing 50- year- old low-lying inter-district bridge on river Godavari between Gudem of Adilabad and Rayapatnam of Karimnagar districts is facing threat of being inundated in the rising backwaters of Sripada Yellampalli irrigation project.

Huge delay in construction of new bridge on Godavari may badly affect the road connectivity between Karimnagar and Adilabad districts if the old low-lying bridge is submerged due to incomplete new high level bridge.

The backwater of Yellampalli irrigation project is increasing gradually as the project was not in operational and not discharging the water to downstream. The  project was not yet inaugurated officially.

The traffic is dense on this route because devotees visit famous Satyanarayana Swamy temple at Gudem who visit Dharmapuri temple. It is said that the pushkara ghats constructed on the Godavari river bed for the Godavari pushkaralu will also be submerged at Gudem if the project backwaters level rises to the maximum in the future.

It was expected that the new high level bridge on Godavari will be completed just before the beginning of the Godavari pushkaralu but in that did not happen.      

Last date for completion of the bridge was extended for thrice but still remains incomplete.

Construction of a bridge with 28 pillars was taken up with the estimated cost of Rs 50 crore and construction work of bridge is going on at snail’s pace.

Actually the construction of new bridge was started in 2010-11 and it should have been completed by 2013. The state government has extended the time till July, 2014 and in vain. However, water is being lifted sometimes at Gudem Lift Irrigation which was inaugurated few months ago.      

During a recent review meeting, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao instructed the officials concerned of the Adilabad to complete the incomplete bridges and roads on war footing to improve road connectivity. 

Chief Minister also asked the roads and buildings minister Thummala Nageshwar Rao and Panchayatraj Minister K. Ramarao to personally inspect the incomplete works of bridges and roads in the Adilabad.

An engineer of Roads and Buildings department said ‘Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao who is likely to visit the Adilabad soon may inspect the construction works of new bridge taken up on Godavari at Gudem and may inaugurate the Sripada Yellampalli project.

News is making rounds in the political circles that, possibilities are being explored to take some water to Hyderabad from Yellampalli project instead Pranahitha- Chevella and that is why water is not being discharged to downstream from the Yellampalli project.    

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No pushkaralu for Adivasis

Adivasis' wooden deities 

Despite being attachment to the river Godavari since a long time, Adivasis do not practice Godavari pushkaralu and will not take holy dip in the river Godavari as they have no such tradition.

However, Adivasis give bath popularly known as ‘Ganga Snan’ to the wooden idols of their traditional gods like Bheemanna, Jalli Devara and Nagoba in the river Godavari twice in a year.

Adivasi leader Sidam Shambu said, “We do not observe Godavari pushkaralu. We have our own set of customers and traditions on various occasion”.

They Adivasis take their traditional gods in a procession to give them bath at identified local streams and also some places at river Godavari.

“It is must for the Adivasis to take dip in the water along with their gods to purify themselves (Shuddi)”, Sidam Shambu said, adding that they will give bath to their traditional gods in Pushyamas and Vaishakam’.

He said they too do Pindapradan called ‘Thoomu’ to their ancestors and forefathers while giving bath to their gods.

There is a tradition among the Adivasis that they equate their elders who died, to that of gods, by performing rituals in their names on the occasion of giving bath to their gods. This traditional is called ‘Karun’ merging the elders who died into their gods.

Adivasis give bath to their traditional gods at ‘Padmalpuri Kako’ at Rampur in Dandepali, considered to be a sacred place as they believe it was a birth place of Adivasi dance ‘Dandari’  to be performed by the Gussadis on the occasion of Diwali.

Another place was Kalamadugu in Jannaram mandal on the banks of river Godavari. The ‘Kattodas’, traditional priests of Adivasis, will perform rituals. Various clans like Atram, Nitham, Sidam, Mesram among the Gods will perform their traditional rituals to their specific gods.   

         

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