Post News Network
Kendrapara, May 11: With the summer at its peak, the spectre of drinking water problem has started haunting several villages in this coastal district. According to sources, the remote villages under Mahakalapara and Rajnagar blocks are the worst hit.
The villages have been facing severe water scarcity as several government-sponsored programmes under the district rural water supply and sanitation mission have failed to deliver the goods. Under these circumstances, the residents are forced to consume water from unhygienic sources. To fetch a pot of water, the village women have to trek long distances daily.
The villages affected by the drinking water crisis are Sathiabati, Gojiabandha, Bandhapada, Gualakani, Kumbharpada, Hedakani, Tentulikanda, Ramachandipada, Nipania, Sananipania and other seaside villages. The district administration is able to supply water tankers only to some of these villages, the locals alleged.
In April this year, 26 residents of Kumbharpada village were affected by cholera. The lone functional tube well in the village fails to cater to the needs of the villagers, forcing them to depend on the water of river Luna for drinking and cooking purpose, the villagers said.
Executive engineer of the rural water supply and sanitation mission Saroj Kumar Satapathy said they have been taking steps to provide drinking water to villages hit by water scarcity by sending water tankers besides installing and repairing defunct tube wells.