Polluted water consumption likely to trigger health hazards

Tribals-dominated villages of Sukinda and Badachana blocks in Jajpur district are facing water scarcity since the month of April. The difficulties of the inhabitants are immense since the temperature is on the rise and it is apprehended that there will be more scarcity of water in coming days.

The villages like Dubikhala, Balia, Ambadula, lembu, Rankia, Bandhaga, Bamanagar, Pimpudia, Kharadi and Patapur, etc with a population of 50,000 tribals in Sukinda block and Bairi, Tanupur, Sukarpur, Chandia  and other villages in Badachana block are mostly affected.

“The tube wells present in these areas are in breakdown conditions and neither the Gram Panchayat (GP) nor the Block Office tries to take any action to tackle the water scarcity by repairing the tube wells,” said Sankar Charana Munda of lembu village.

“Due to many non functioning tube wells, the villagers have been using contaminated water from the ponds, rivers and other water sources. It is feared that the water scarcity will be acute in the coming months. Since water bodies nearby the village settlements have dried up, the tribals, including women and children, have to walk miles in search of water,” said Banshidhar  Beuri of Rankia.

Out of six tube wells in our village, only one tube well is working. As a result, all the villagers jostle with one another in queues to take turn for collecting water.

“Every day I rise early in the morning and have to stand in a queue to collect water in buckets,” lamented Manjulata Mudali of Bairi village.

A search for water under the scorching sun is a daily routine for women and children of the tribal dominated villages. Women and children have dug a dry riverbed in search of water. The scenes of people walking in long lines with vessels on their heads are common.

With summer heat on the rise, the problem of acute shortage of drinking water has affected about 45 tribal dominated villages near the hillocks under Sukinda block and by all accounts, the steps claimed to have been taken by the Government is too little and too late, said Sarabara Jaraka  of Bamananagar village.

In many villages, the residents have to drink polluted waters from the ponds, ditches and other water bodies. Tribal women still have to walk miles in the sun to fetch drinking water for their daily requirements.

Children are made to stand in serpentine queues right from the morning to fetch water due to a heavy turnout near tube-wells. Many also drink polluted waters after collecting from ponds, ditches and other water bodies.

“We have recently repaired many tube wells and those defunct ones not covered as yet will be repaired soon. Wherever there is a scarcity, we will definitely provide water either by tankers or by any means,” assured an engineer of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department.