Sundargarh: Denizens of Sundargarh could be facing a scarcity of water both for drinking as well as other chores as the flow of the Ib river, their lifeline, is diminishing.
At Mahadevpada ghat, Samalai temple ghat, Darabar ghat and old pump house ghat of PHEO department, there is little water in the river already, leaving locals, who frequent these points for bathing or other chores, high and dry.
The Public Health Engineering Organisation has been supplying water to the town from a stream of the Ib river that flows from Satanadarah since 2016.
There is a move to build a check dam on the river to mitigate the water problem and Rs 17 crore from the estimated cost of Rs 30 crore has already been sanctioned from District Mineral Foundation fund. Sadly though, neither has the tender process been initiated, nor the soil tested for the project.
For 24-hour supply of water to meet the requirement of over 70, 000 people of the town, work on an overhead tank and pipe-laying are yet to be completed.
As per the 2011 census, the town’s population is 45, 000, but not even 50 per cent of the requirement of this population is met. Hence locals have demanded streamlining of supply of drinking water.
A team led by BJP district president Bata Kishore Mishra Wednesday met Collector Surendra Kumar Meena and apprised him of the drinking water problem.
The team demanded that at least a sand dam be constructed at Darbar ghat, or else, people will face a lot of difficulties in taking a dip as during the holy Kartik month, beginning Thursday, the number of people thronging this ghat will increase manifold.
PNN