Nuagaon: There is no dearth of schemes and yojanas launched by the government, but in most cases genuine beneficiaries fail to get any benefits from such programmes, thanks to the apathetic attitude of the concerned officials.
While there is provision to provide fresh drinking water to students in schools, the students of Kachpalli project primary school at Kachapalli village under Nuagaon block in Nayagarh district are forced to drink iron and fluoride laced water from an old tube well.
The school is just about 500 meters from the block headquarters. As many as 45 students from Class I to Class V attend the school.
As the school has no rooms for each class, all the students are being incorporated in two class rooms, leaving the quality of the education imparted at back seat. This apart, the school situated alongisde National Highway is in need of a boundary wall for the safety of its students. Local MLA, block chairman and the concerned officials have been intimated about the problem, but to no avail.
The acute problem the students and teachers are facing is the drinking water problem. There is a tube well near the school dug up years back. Most of the time, it remains out of order. The rest of the time when it works after repair, it only dispenses iron and fluoride content water.
“To fetch clean drinking water, the students have to cross the National Highway. As it is a risky affair to go the other side of the road to get water, the teachers never allow them to over there,’ locals said.
The students are left with no other option than using the iron laced water, unknowingly making themselves vulnerable to various diseases.
Local villagers urged the administration to intervene and take steps to provide clean drinking water to the students.
When contacted, Nuagaon Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department junior engineer Shila Sethy said steps would soon be taken to change the old pipes of all the tube wells and ensure proper drinking water for the students.
PNN