Certain areas of Jajpur district are facing acute contaminated drinking water problem with the onset of the summer.
About 800 villages of the district have been facing water scarcity problems. The water that comes through municipal taps in Jajpur town is mixed with sewage water, and it cannot be used for cooking or even bathing.
The residents have been facing the problem of contaminated drinking water for many years due to the wrong laying of sewerage system. The joints of sewerage pipes too loosened resulting in the mixing of sewerage with drinking water. The situation has assumed such alarming proportions that outbreak of epidemic is feared.
Bad water management coupled with acute shortage of drinking water in the rural and urban areas of the district has unleashed gastroenteritis on epidemic proportions.
Making the situation worse is the non-availability of doctors at many primary health centers (PHCs) in rural areas, denying the afflicted the much-needed timely assistance. large numbers people of rural and urban areas are seriously exposed to these dangers as there are hardly any sewer-lines or drains. The resultant stagnated water has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Many water bodies like ponds , rivers , canals and creeks are being polluted by the locals for which the waterborne diseases are spreading , said Krusaka Sangha president Basanta Parida.
A century- old canal was the source of water for the large numbers of canal side people. But since about seven years the locals are not using the canal water even for bathing as the canal has been a dumping ground for garbage.
The unprecedented scarcity of drinking water compounded the problem forcing the rural people dig small pits close to any source of water, or simple use whatever water is available. The use of water from such sources proved disastrous.
The notorious shallow hand-pumps still remain in use while preventive measures remain erratic in many villages. Shallow hand-pumps are very much in use, and even as the residents know that the water is contaminated, they have no option other than them, said Manas Nayak of Badachana.