Baliguda: Tribals of Sabarakia village of Bataguda panchayat under Baliguda block in Kandhamal district have been facing acute drinking water scarcity for the past few years. They fulfil their needs for drinking water by accumulating it from an unhygienic pit (chua in local parlance). The same pit is also used by cows to quench their thirst. With both human beings and animals using the same pit water-borne diseases are common in the locality.
The district administration is aware of this acute water scarcity. However, nothing has been done to reduce the plight of the villagers. “Pure drinking water has always remained a dream for us. We do not know when this dream will turn into a reality,” lamented the villagers.
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Year after year the problem persists. The put dries up in summer forcing the villagers to face acute water shortage. During the monsoons when the pit is full to the brim both man and animal make a beeline for it. In the process the water turns dirty and unhygienic. However, the villagers have no option but to drink it.
Time and again the villagers have approached the district administration to solve their problem. They have appealed to the officials to put up some tube wells in the village. But till date their appeals have fallen on deaf ears.
Local sarpanch Menaka Mallick blamed the villagers on this issue. “Funds were sanctioned for constructing a well from the panchayat office through the Baliguda block last year. However, the villagers did not dig a well. We will try to solve their problem when funds are again available,” Mallick said. She however, failed to provide any answer regarding the funds that were earlier sanctioned.
PNN