Paralakhemundi: As summer progresses, water woes of people in many villages under Rayagad block of Gajapati district are mounting with ponds and tube wells fast drying up.
Drinking water projects are dysfunctional making the life of people much worse, a report said. Though the government has set up a drinking water project at a cost of Rs 63 lakh at Narayanpur, it has failed to serve its purpose for some technical issue.
“The project has flopped despite lakhs of rupees having been spent. Our drinking water problem has been a major one in summer,” villagers lamented.
Water level has gone down, leaving three out of every four wells dry in the area. “The water we avail from a well and two solar-powered tube wells is insufficient to cater to our daily needs.
The authorities concerned have not taken any steps to make the project functional despite our repeated pleas,” the locals lamented. Narayanpur Sarpanch Jamunadevi has warned of an agitation at the Collectorate May 25, if no immediate step is taken to set the project in motion.
According to reports, the RWSS set up the drinking water project with a provision of water supply from Mahendratanaya river through pipes. In 2018, the project was badly damaged by cyclone Titli.
In 2019, the RWSS floated a tender for laying pipelines up to the river and construction of an overhead tank (50,000 litres). Rs 38 lakh was allocated for pipe laying and Rs 25 lakh for the tank construction and other ancillary works.
Pipe connection work was completed in December 2019 while other works of the project were completed by July 2020. “The pipe laying work was botched up on a stretch of two km.
At some places, the pipes have breakages. Iron pipes were laid only for only 30 metres,” the sarpanch said. The Collector and the RWSS authorities were apprised of the issue, but nothing is being done to repair the project, she added.
Executive engineer of the RWSS, Prakash Chandra Das said the department is aware of the problem. “The head office has been intimated for fund allocation. The project will be repaired only after the fund allocation,” he added.
PNN
