Raisuan: Despite funds being spent from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) on development of mineral-bearing areas, people in several villages of tribal-dominated Keonjhar district are still deprived of safe drinking water. Tribals allege lakhs of rupees are being misappropriated by officials in the name of development.
The sorry state of the inhabitants of Sankari village under Bansapal block is a case in point. People belonging to the Bhuyan tribe live in the village, about 60 km away from the block headquarters.
Development scenario of the village has been confined to a primary school and an Anganwadi. Among the host of problems plaguing the village, the major one is lack of safe drinking water.
From children to the elderly, all the villagers are forced to drink water from streams and rivers, endangering their lives.
According to the villagers, after taking up the issue of drinking water several times at the administrative level, a tube well was installed at a cost of Rs 3.95 lakh. The project information plaque says it is solar powered tube well, but it is not.
Locals lamented that the water they get from the tube will is unfit for consumption. And in summer, the tube well goes dry and fails to deliver water, they rued.
They also sought to know when a maximum of Rs 1 lakh can spent on a tube well project, nearly Rs 4 lakh has been shown as its cost. Such a whopping cost for the tube well is unbelievable, the villagers pointed out, alleging irregularities were committed.
They demanded a probe into the irregularities. PNN