Bargarh: Despite being 2 kilometres close to a perennial river, the natives of Sarangpur village under Rajborasambar block in Bargarh district are struggling to get their daily quotas of drinking water.
Sarangpur village comprises of three wards and there are several residential areas like Meherpada, Gaudapada, Bazaarpada, Schoolpada, Brahmanapada, etc. The population of the village is over 1,500 and most of the families depend on agriculture for their livelihood.
The villagers have been facing acute drinking water problem for a long time now. “There is Anga River two kilometres from the village. Yet, we are facing difficulties in getting drinking water,” the villagers rued.
“In summer season, the problem gets more acute. We have already taken up the issue with the administrative officers and local people’s representatives but to no avail,” they added.
The village has five tube wells. Of them, three dispense water not fit for consumption. The villagers use water from the remaining two for drinking and cooking purposes. But, they allege that they are not giving out enough water. They take much more time than normal to fill a bucket, forcing them to stand at the tube wells for long hours.
“We have to keep our pots in line from early in the morning to make sure that we get the required amount of water. We have a pond in our village. We stopped using its water as the pond was full of water hyacinths and other wastages. As of now, the pond is lying neglected. A drinking water project in our village will be of immense help to us,” said Snehalata Panda.
According to another villager, Neelanchal Darwan, the village’s year-long drinking water problem will be solved if water from the Anga River is supplied to them through pipe.
The villagers urged the administration to take immediate steps to address their problem.
PNN