Vidarbha practically on fire till Monsoon: HC tells govt ensure daily tankers for Melghat tribal villages
Noting that the Vidarbha region will remain “virtually on fire” until the onset of the rainy season, with temperatures currently reaching 45-46 degrees Celsius, the Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Maharashtra government to ensure at least one tanker of potable water for every village in the tribal Melghat region of Amravati district. The court observed that people in these villages “won’t be able to survive” without such supplies. The HC was hearing PILs on malnutrition deaths among children, pregnant women, and lactating mothers in the tribal area.On April 15, the HC had raised concerns over deaths in the region due to shortage and contamination owing to drinking non-potable water and had asked the authorities to take urgent steps to provide sufficient drinking water in the region. It had also directed the government to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity for pumping water considering the severe summer. Additional Government Pleader (AGP) Bhupesh V Samant told the HC that the authorities have initiated measures as per HC order. Senior advocate Jugal Kishore Gilda for petitioner argued that the temperatures in the Vidarbha region are soaring and Melghat and other regions and several villages in the region including Dharni, Chikhaldara, Churni “are almost without water because of the severe evaporation of water and drying up of water bodies/wells etc.” A bench of Justices Ravindra V Ghuge and Hiten S Venegavkar then asked Gilda to send the list of all such villages to AGP Samant on Wednesday and asked the government lawyer to discuss with the authorities on the issue.Story continues below this ad The HC asked the authorities to inform it during the hearing next week about “providing one regular sized tanker filled with potable water to be delivered to each village once in a day until an onset of rainy season.” AGP Samant told the bench that the authorities, without waiting for further orders, will start working on provision of tankers and would inform the court during the next hearing on the status of the supply. “It requires no debate that Vidarbha region would practically be on fire by mid-May and by the end of May, up to the first half of June, people in such villages will not be able to survive without supply of potable water,” the HC observed and posted further hearing to May 7.
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