Water scarcity grips Gajapati village

BERHAMPUR: With temperature rising, the drinking water situation in R Udayagiri block of Gajapati district is going from bad to worse. Several villages are facing acute water shortage already.Residents of Kusapalli village are facing severe drinking water scarcity for several days now. Despite implementation of various developmental programmes, no concrete step has been taken to mitigate the water crisis, which aggravated further this year.

Inhabited by around 150 families with a population of 700, the village comes under Ward-5 of Mahendragarh panchayat. Situated hardly half a km from the State Highway, the village has five tube wells to meet the water needs. While three  tube wells are lying defunct, the rest release stinking water, forcing residents to fetch water from a nullah. Ward Member Jyotshna Sethy said the village experiences water scarcity throughout the year, but it is acute in summer season. The matter has been placed before authorities concerned, but not to avail. Villagers are compelled to use contaminated water from the nullah, she added.

Pramila Raita said, “We walk around a km twice daily to collect water from the nullah. We consume water after boiling it. However, we use non-boiled water for washing and other purposes. As a result, several villagers are also suffering from  skin disease.”The block officials said steps are being taken to repair the tube wells and engage water tankers in water crisis-hit villages.