Naraj: The state government is spending crores of rupees to provide potable water to people. But, many drinking water projects in rural areas have failed to serve the purpose.
The drinking water project at Jaypur village of Belagachhia panchayat in Barang block is a classic example of poor implementation of government scheme at the grassroots.
According to sources, a drinking water project was constructed at Jaypur in 2005 to provide potable water to around 3,000 villagers. The state government had spent Rs 15 lakh to sink a borewell, build a pump house and lay pipes for the drinking water project. However, the project is yet to be made functional even though 15 years have passed since its construction.
The surroundings of the pump house have been covered with plants and grasses while some equipment of the project were stolen away, said the villagers.
The villagers claimed that they have raised the drinking water project issue with the authorities concerned time and again but to no avail.
“Lakhs of rupees were spent for the drinking water project at Jaypur. But, the project is lying idle. People of the village did not get any benefit from the project. The state government should launch a probe to find out the reason behind the failure of the project,” said a villager.
Department junior engineer Sushant Kumar Sethi said he is new to the job and he has no knowledge about the drinking water project at Jaypur. “We will look into the issue if a complaint is lodged with us,” he added.