New water troughs bring relief to livestock in Andhra Pradesh’s scorching summer 

Cattle and goats drinking water at one of the recently constructed water troughs in various places in Andhra Pradesh.
| Photo Credit: BY ARRANGEMENT

In a move to address the drinking water needs of livestock including cattle, sheep, goats, dogs and birds amid the intense summer heat, the Andhra Pradesh government built 12,000 new water troughs in rural areas over the past 20 days.

Taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), the troughs aim to provide the much-needed respite to animals in drought-prone and heat-affected villages. Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who is also Minister for Panchayat Raj & Rural Development & Rural Water Supply, and Environment and Forests, had come out with the idea of constructing these water troughs across the State.

Another 3,000 water troughs are expected to be completed by the end of April, 2025, pushing the total to 15,000 — a target set by the government during a ceremonial ground-breaking on April 1. These troughs are being set up in villages identified by the Animal Husbandry department to quench the thirst of cattle, goats, and sheep. 

Generally, the Forest department construct water troughs for wild animals during summer months to ensure their survival when natural water sources dry up. Introducing the same concept under the MGNREGS, the State government has started constructing them in the villages for animals and birds to meet the water needs in the ongoing summer.

All these troughs are constructed very near to the water taps and can be filled easily, and the responsibility of filling these would be given to the Rural Water Supply Department and Panchayats in villages.  

Each trough is designed to store 3,000 litres of water and costs between ₹40,000 and ₹45,000 to build. It is estimated that, all these 15,000 troughs together could store as much as 4.5 crore litres of water. On an average, each cattle would consume about 15 litres in one take, the officials estimated.  

“These structures are helping quench the thirst of nearly 3 million animals every day,” Commissioner of the Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Department Krishna Teja told The Hindu on Tuesday. He added that, “About 80% of the planned construction has been completed so far, and we’ve also ensured arrangements for regular water filling.” 

As temperatures continue to rise across the State, these water troughs are emerging as a lifeline for the livestock and other animals battling the heat.