Keonjhar: The residents of this town and areas close to its vicinity are bracing for an acute water crisis with the water level in the Sana Machhakandana dam decreasing. It is bad news for the residents as the hot summer has already set in, officials of the district administration stated here Thursday. Water to the dam comes from the Sana Machhakandana river. Inadequate rainfall during the monsoons last year led to a decrease in the water level of the river and the supply of water to the dam also suffered. The maximum and minimum water level for the dam is 1,960 feet and 1,926 feet respectively. When the water level in the dam hovers around 1,936 feet it is considered safe. Anything below it is considered alarming.
Currently, the level of water in the dam stands at 1,926 feet, enough for the alarm bells to start ringing. Officials said that the crisis will worsen if there is lack of rainfall soon. The water level in the dam is giving sleepless nights to officials of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) entrusted with the responsibility of supplying water seamlessly to this town. The Sana Machhakandana dam located near Medinipur under Banspal block of this district is the main source of drinking water for this town. The water from the dam is supplied through pipes and conserved at Judia ghati before it reaches the residents. Initially, the Sana Machhakandana dam used to provide the entire drinking water for this town. With the increase in population, authorities made alternate arrangement of supplying water from the Kanjhari dam. However, the Sana Machhakandana dam continues to provide drinking water to Ward Nos 1-8 and 11-18.
Over, 50,000 families depend on this dam for drinking water supply, PHED engineer Ghashiram Majhi said. Water from the dam is also used for irrigation. Hence the decrease in water level is creating apprehensions among the minds of the farmers. Harvesting of crops is suffering due to lack of water, locals pointed out. They added that despite spending large amounts for dredging and repairing, the dam is failing to retain water. They also said that as the dam water is not distributed in a regulated manner, the recent crisis has cropped up and it may escalate shortly. When contacted, PHED general manager Narad Rath informed that if the crisis persists, pumps will be used to lift water from the dam and supply it to residents of the town. It should also be stated here that the Badaghagra and Sanaghagara waterfalls are on downstream of the dam. Lakhs of tourists visit these scenic waterfalls every year and contribute to the economic development of the locality. If the waterfalls dry up, the economy will also suffer without tourists, locals said.