With the onset of summer and rising day temperature, the spectre of drinking water scarcity has started haunting several coastal villages of Mahakalapada block. There are more than a dozen of villages under Barkandha and Mangalpur gram panchayat where the drinking water problem is acute. The worst-affected are Barkanda, Adoi, Kochila, Tentulikandha, Gokhakhati, Sathiabati, Goiabandha,chedakani Bandhapada,Gualakani, Mangalapur, Kumbharpada and Koratapnga villages.
The remote villages have been facing severe water scarcity as several Government sponsored programmes under the District Rural Water Sanitation Scheme has failed to deliver permanent drinking water supply facilities in the areas. In several villages, circumstances force the locals to consume contaminated and unhygienic pond water. It is a familiar sight to see women and children with pitchers and other vessels on head, moving in small groups to fetch water from pond for drinking purpose.
During the summer, the water level in some of the ponds and wells has started drying up. This has compounded the problem further. In order to fetch a pot of water from a private tube well in Gojabandha village, they have to trek about 1 to 2 miles.
“I have been witnessing the drinking water scarcity going on in village since I have cometo village as a newly- wed bride,” lamented Sarathi Roul, a middleaged woman of Gojabandha. “When the private tube well gets defunct because of overuse, we haveto depend on contaminated and unhygienic pond of the village and saline water of the Luna river,” informed Rabindra Palai, a local.
The State Government had started a saline water purifying project morethan a decade back at Mahakalapada to provide drinking water to about45 coastal villages. But it has been lying defunct. No steps have beentaken for renovating it, said locals. Assistant engineer of Rural Water Sanitation Scheme (RWSS) ofMahakalapada block Pratap Kumar Rath said, “Salinity is a majorproblem in seaside villages. The department is aware about problems.
We are providing drinking water through tankers in manyvillages. Besides, many defunct tube-wells have been repaired.”