The electorates of coastal Mahakalpada Assembly constituency, who have failed to get basic amenities like potable water over the years, now demanded that the leaders in fray promise to sort out the drinking water problem first before they plead for votes.
According to Nagendra Behera, an electorate, there are more than two dozens of villages under the Mahakalpada Assembly constituency where drinking water problem is acute. The villagers are Teragaon,Tikarpanga, Barakanda, Suniti, Ramanagar, Pitapatha, SanaTubi, BadaTubi, Ramachandrapur, Baradanga, Kajalapatia, Gokhakhati, Sathiabati, Gojiabandha, Bandhapada,Gualakani,Kumharpada,Dadhipur,Baulapada,Mangalpur,Barakhanda,Adoi, Kochila, Sarumuhin, BajarPur, Hedakani,Tentulikanda,Gadaromita,Patalipanka,Kalaghar, Tikhiri,Subala,Nantara,Badagaon,Ramachandipada, Kuchilabelari,Nipania and Sananipania, etc.
The inhabitants in these villages have been facing severe water scarcity as several Government-sponsored programmes under the District Rural Water Sanitation Scheme have failed to deliver permanent drinking water facilities in the areas. Due to the non-availability of pipe water, the locals are forced to consume contaminated and unhygienic pond water. During the summer, the water level in some of the ponds and wells also dry up and here starts the real trouble.
According to BJP MlA nominee Bijay Mohapatra, the District Rural Water Supply and Sanitation mission earlier targeted to provide potable water, but due to substandard work the department failed to continue supply of water."We are not going to get lured by vague promises of the candidates. We have decided to cast vote in favour of those candidates who can win our confidence to mitigate the drinking water woes," said many villagers.
Another major problem is saline water. When salinity in water was found in the 70s, it was not taken seriously. However, from the coast to the interior areas, the ground water began to taste salty and unfit for consumption. It was also found that the coastal areas were a vulnerable track of saline water due to rampant illegal felling of mangrove forests and excess use of groundwater through tube-wells and wells. Besides, the seaside areas grew prone to ingress of sea water during each high tide period. The State Government started a saline water purifying project more than a decade back at Mahakalapada to provide drinking water to about 45 coastal villages. But it has been lying defunct for several years now. No step has been taken to renovate it.
According to sitting MlA Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, in the last five years, pipe water supply has been connected to several villages whereas a mega project will be set up in coming days to solve the drinking water problems in Mahakalpada.