Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Several regions of Madhya Pradesh are reeling under a water crisis. The situation has become more serious due to non-functional hand pumps. The total number of hand pumps in the state stands at 576,475. Of them, 16,341 hand pumps are lying closed. The depleting water level is also one of the major reasons for the closure of hand pumps.
This could be gauged from the fact that as many as 7,653 hand pumps have become dysfunctional due to water table-related issues.
Data from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department says the Bhopal division has 43,682 hand pumps, of which 42,488 are functional. As many as 1,194 hand pumps are closed. The number of hand pumps closed due to water table-related issues has been pegged at 493.
The Bhopal division comprises Bhopal, Raisen, Sehore, Rajgarh and Vidisha districts. Bhopal district has 4,691 hand pumps, of which 4,588 are functional. At least 103 hand pumps are closed and 64 of them have been identified as beyond repair.
Vidisha has the highest number of closed hand pumps in the Bhopal division at 499. Rajgarh comes second with 281 closed hand pumps. Sehore has 147 closed hand pumps, followed by 164 in Raisen.
Across the Bhopal division, 428 hand pumps are beyond repair.
The Narmadapuram division has 568 closed hand pumps, while 321 hand pumps have become non-functional due to water table-related issues.
The Indore division has 58,224 hand pumps and 1,240 of them are lying closed. At least 390 hand pumps became non-functional due to water table-related problems. The Indore division comprises Indore, Dhar, Sardarpur, Jhabua and Alirajpur. Among these, tribal-dominated Jhabua has the highest number of closed hand pumps at 426.
Dhar comes second with 385 closed hand pumps. Alirajpur district has 259 hand pumps in the closed category, while Indore district has the least at 22.
When the water crisis deepens, district administrations acquire private hand pumps and wells to ensure water supply to people. However, PHE data shows that no hand pumps or wells have been acquired from private persons.
