Badasahi: As the mercury touched 45 degrees in Mayurbhanj district, water scarcity has hit several areas in the region.
Despite the demands of the residents to put an end to their water woes, no initiative has been taken in this regard so far. As a result, people, especially in the rural areas, are enduring acute water shortage. What is worse is that the water level in the available sources is falling rapidly with the rise in temperature, thereby contaminating the water.
In Badasahi block under Talapada panchayat in the district there are two government provided wells whose water has already been contaminated. As a result, residents depending solely on these two water sources are now suffering from acute drinking water shortage.
According to sources, more than 200 residents of ward No.1 and 300 residents of ward Nos. 5 and 6 are collecting water from these two water sources.
Villagers alleged that the water available in these wells are containment and smells bad. As it is not safe to use the water from these wells, people are fetching drinking water from a private well.
As the water level in this private well has dropped low, the villagers are using electric pump to collect the water. The money they are paying to hire the pump and to buy diesel to run the pump is putting additional financial pressure on the local residents.
Meanwhile, water scarcity has given rise to diarrhea and skin diseases among the locals, especially children. To avoid using the contaminated water, some women trek two kilometers to fetch contamination-free water.
Locals say that they have lodged several complaints in this regard with the PHED office, but there is no one to alleviate their plights. Angry locals have now threatened to lock the panchayat office if their problem is not solved at the earliest.
PNN