More than two dozen hand-pumps have been installed within a fortnight in about 11 Baiga settlements in Pandriya and Bodla development blocks of Kabirham (Kawardha) district to provide potable water for the Baiga tribals living in the forest areas of the district.
Work of installing hand-pumps is being carried out on a war-footing in these areas as per instructions of Chief Minister Raman Singh who has set May 31 as the deadline for completion of the work.
According to officials, as many as five simple drilling machines besides a crawler machine specially designed for drilling in hilly areas have been deployed for expediting the work of installing the hand pumps.
Till date, as many as 14 hand-pumps have been installed after drilling in 11 settlements of Baiga tribes. Platforms have also been constructed around ten hand-pumps.
It is pertinent to mention that the Chief Minister had shown concern for the Baiga tribals of Kabirdham (Kawardha) district facing acute problem of potable water in a meeting held on May 1.
He had instructed Secretary , Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) GS Mishra to send a team of senior engineers of the department to the affected areas.
A team led by PHED Chief Engineer Dr M l Agarwal was immediately constituted for the purpose.
The team conducted a survey of the Baiga settlements of the district and a report was submitted by Mishra to the Government.
According to the report, the team members moved through the mountain of Kurapani village panchayat (Jampani village) and mixed Sodium Hydrochloride to the water seeping out from the mountain to make it free from microbes.
The team found that drilling in the area was possible only by crawler machine and requested the senior officers about requirement of the crawler machine. A crawler machine was sent from Surguja and drilling work was started in the village.
The settlements where the work has been completed include Amleedih (village panchayat Bairakh), Makkekonha (village panchayat Dholbazza ), Chorchaudha (village panchayat Dholbazza) , Khalhepar (village panchayat Bairakh) , Barpani (village panchayat Kukreepani) , Bagchhapar (village panchayat Batipathra) and Skulpara and Dhamdapara ( village panchayat Kesmarda ).
The team also visited Taregaon village where they found the hand pump in working order. The work is in progress in all other settlements. The Chief Minister lauded PHED for its diligent steps to solve the problem of drinking water in Baiga settlements within a fortnight.