Officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) conducted surprise inspections at several hospitals in Arilova Health City on Tuesday following reports that unauthorised extraction of groundwater was affecting the drinking water supply to nearby residential areas.The inspections revealed that some hospitals, despite having obtained GVMC bulk water connections, were not using them and were instead drawing large quantities of groundwater through borewells. A few hospitals had not obtained GVMC bulk water connections at all and were entirely dependent on groundwater extracted through borewells without the required permissions.In a release, GVMC Superintending Engineer (Water Supply) Pallam Raju said the unauthorised extraction of groundwater was contributing to drinking water shortages in the surrounding localities.He said notices had been issued to the managements of the hospitals concerned, directing them to apply for GVMC bulk water connections within seven days and refrain from extracting or using groundwater through borewells without the requisite permissions.Mr. Raju said ensuring an uninterrupted supply of safe drinking water to the public remained one of the GVMC’s priorities. He warned that inspections would continue at hospitals, commercial establishments and other institutions suspected of illegally extracting groundwater in violation of government regulations.He said stringent legal action would be initiated against those who failed to comply with the notices and continued to violate the norms, adding that the GVMC would not tolerate any activity that disrupted the public drinking water supply. Published - August 04, 2026 10:19 pm IST