Odisha's rural areas in the verge of acute water scarcity

BERHAMPUR:  Despite the implementation of various schemes like Basudha and Jal Jeevan Mission, safe drinking water continues to elude many rural areas of Ganjam and Gajapati districts. In Kandhasarala village under Tarasing panchayat of Ganjam’s Jagannathprasad block, womenfolk are forced to trek a distance of over 1.5 km to fetch drinking water. Around 103 families residing in the village which reels under water scarcity almost throughout the year.

In 2017, a local NGO sunk a bore well and constructed an overhead tank. The villagers got water for around 2 months. But due to lack of maintenance, the bore-well project became defunct. Social worker Bighneswar Sahu alleged that as no steps were taken to revive the project, its intake well is now packed with mud and soil.

“Villagers are forced to collect water from the nearby Badanadi river twice a day. But now the river water has become muddy due to rains in the last two days. Since the water is used by both humans and livestock, there is a possibility of the spread of water-borne diseases in the village during the rainy season” Sahu said. Contacted, panchayat executive officer R Pradhan said the matter has already been placed before the higher authorities.

A similar situation prevails in several villages of Gajapati. Baliganda in the inaccessible Katama panchayat under Mohana block is one such village which is facing an acute water shortage. Without any drinking water facility, more than 70 families residing in the village depend on a nearby stream for their daily needs. 

An official of the district panchayat office at Paralakhemundi said a proposal to install tube wells and piped water facility in Baliganda village has been placed with the administration. Sources said women carrying empty utensils and pitchers to collect water is a common sight in rural areas of both the districts.