Khaira: The government envisaged Basudha Yojana to ensure safe drinking water to people in rural pockets but a project under this scheme has flopped in Chasakhanda panchayat under Oupada block in Balasore.
As the project lies defunct, people of six villages are allegedly drawing water from nearby water bodies.
They lamented that thousands of people have to face a lot of problems when safe drinking water supply has stopped for the last one year.
The Rs 15 lakh project has been lying defunct. Sore over the failure of the project, people of six villages warned of agitation at the Collectorate if the project was not set right.
Reports said the panchayati raj department and the RWSS set up this project in 2017-18 to provide safe drinking water to people of Chasakhanda-1, Chasakhanda-2, Baigadia, Haladia Patana, Samraipur and Jenasahi.
An overhead tank was built and a deep bore well was sunk. When the project was commissioned, some places were supplied water but underground supply pipes had broken and water leaked out. Locals then complained of muddy and contaminated water being supplied to them.
However, the project remained defunct. Villagers had apprised Roupya Ranjan Behera, the SDO of Soro RWSS, of the project. But no step was taken to resume the project.
Later, villagers took up the issue with former minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi in 2018. The minister had even directed the Collector to ensure effectiveness of the project.
Sadly, no action was taken to supply water to the villages.
Locals said now they are forced to drink water from water bodies, making them vulnerable to various diseases in six villages. They have warned of gheraoing the Collectorate.