Nuapada: The residents of Bhuliasikuan village under Khariar block in Nuapada district are facing acute drinking water crisis this summer. Temperatures soar to above 40 degree Celsius here compounding the problems of the villagers. They have to cycle more than two kilometres to get drinking water.
Bhuliasikuan village is located just 10km away from Khariar block headquarters in the district. The village has four tubewells, but they are useless for the past several months as the water from these have excessive fluoride content, some residents alleged.
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Subsequently, the Public Health department in Nuapada district had constructed an overhead tank in the village to provide pure drinking water. However, many Bhuliasikuan villagers complained of stomach problems after using the water from the tank. Several others even developed kidney diseases, a villager said.
Finding no other alternative, residents of Bhuliasikuan village are fetching drinking water from nearby Arjun river.
The villagers have run from pillar to post to voice their grievances to the district administration, but in vain. “We will be compelled to agitate and stage roadblock if our problem is not addressed soon,” some villagers warned.
PNN