Outbreak of jaundice has created panicamong the people of Karlakot village in Nuapada district. Amongst the affected most are children.
The villagers have complained that the cause of spread of the disease is contamination of drinking water due to breaking of supply pipes. "The pipes are leaking near village Dargaon, resulting in creation of swamps. The swamp water contaminates due to open defecation around that runs back into the supply pipes when the pump is stopped," said the villagers. People have demanded immediate replacement of the damaged pipes.
The villagers also complained that the quantity of water has reduced this summer. "The water flow in the pipes is so low that it takes half an hour to fill a bucket," complained the women.
The officials of RWSS Department however said that some households are drawing more water by fitting water pumps in the supply pipes.Moreover, the source well is also drying," said RWSS Boden JE Akshyaya Samal. The well has been made in the bed of Sundar river below the Lower Indra Irrigation Project. An infiltration gallery with perforated pipes has also been made to collect water from the aquifer underlying the river. "It is an old project. The infiltration gallery might have been checked resulting in less collection of water in the well," added the JE. The people, however , demandedan early solution. "Otherwise, we would have to depend upon the fluoride contaminated water of the hand pumps," said the locals.
It is to be noted that most of the people of Karlakot village are affected with the dreaded disease fluorosis due to consumption of fluoride contaminated water. The matter came to limelight when one of the villagers Prafulla Behera became crippled with the disease in 1985. Three decades have passed. Many people including Prafulla have succumbed to the disease, but the problem of water remains.