Drinking water in Dosaludiki, Sayala and Kasapuram villages in Guntakal mandal has been contaminated for quite some years with authorities doing nothing so far. A summer storage tank was constructed at Kasapuram village which is filled by pumping water from the Gooty sub branch canal. Water to this canal is released at the regulatory pipeline located in G. Kottala from the Guntakal branch canal. The Gooty branch canal which passes through Guntakal has been converted into a drainage canal by residents living on either side of it. All garbage is dumped into it as well as corpses of animals. Besides this, drainage water of Guntakal town also flows through the Gooty branch canal. The polluted water in its filthy form is stored in the summer storage tank and supplied to the three villages where nearly 10,000 people live. This has resulted in water borne diseases. The Guntakal water works and engineering department had in the past sent proposals to state government for the construction of a parallel drainage canal all along the 2.5 kms route for diversion of sewage water at a cost of Rs 1.5 crore, but nothing has materialised so far. Guntakal municipal chairman, Mr N. Ramalingappa, told this paper that he a memorandum had been submitted to the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy by him. Even if temporary measures are to be initiated to divert drainage water passing through the Gooty branch canal it would cost Rs 15 lakh. The municipal chairman said municipal authorities were seized of the problem and efforts were being made to get funds from the Anantapur MP, Mr Anantha Venkata-rama Reddy, who promised to allocate funds for the same from his MP local area development funds. The municipal chairman said public works department authorities had been urged to remove encroachments on both sides of the Gooty branch canal as encroachers were responsible for pollution of the drinking water.