Dasamantpur: Seema Jani, a villager of Doldola village of Lulla panchayat under this block in Koraput district brings water in big pots from rivulets far away at least twice a day to meet drinking water requirement in her family. She has to trek more than 1.5 kilometres on a daily basis to reach natural water sources like Pitachola jhola and Kadam jhola to have a pitcher full of drinking water.
“Scarcity of water during summer is expected. People in some parts of this locality do face it. But we are facing the problem in winter also,” fumed villagers. The village is inhabited by 50 families, with the population just exceeding 200.
Earlier the village had three tube wells. Of the three, two are out of order and one is linked to a water project, run by power department.
For the project water from the tube well is lifted with the help of a motor to an overhead tank, which is connected with a tap to dispense water. But due to three-phase electricity problem, the facility is not working for the last two months, alleged villagers Seema Jani, Jagabandhu Saunta, Fakir Saunta and a few others.
Narrating how more than 10 villagers were taken ill and later hospitalised after consuming water from these rivulets in 2013, the villagers said they are apprehensive of the same health problems this time.
“We have taken up our problem with the block administration and rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) department, but to no avail,” they rued.
The villagers urged the district administration to get the defunct tube wells and the water project functional. This apart, terming it as a permanent solution to their drinking water problems, they have asked the district administration to take steps to get them water from Huadong and Sakadadong rivulets.
When contacted, junior engineer, RWSS, Dharmendra Nayak said the department has only one drinking water tank. As the tank is covering 16 panchayats, it fails to reach most villages. The problem has been intimated to the block development officer, requesting him to provide another tank to ease the pressure on the present one.
PNN