Raighar: The residents near Maa Pendrani temple at Khiloli village under Raighar block in Kundei panchayat of Nabarangpur district have complained that they can collect water from a tube well here only in glasses.
Maa Pendrani is the sitting deity of Khiloli village, and devotees from nearby villages visit the temple daily. On Sundays there is a significant increase in the footfall of devotees from Umorekote, Raighar, Barei, Nagari, Keskal and Dhamtari districts of Chhattisgarh.
The temple is on the side of the road that connects Odisha and Chhattisgarh, passing through Umorekote, Raighar and Khiloli.
It may be mentioned here that the tube well was constructed a few years ago for performing daily rituals in the temple and to meet the drinking water requirements of the devotees. Initially, it was easy for people to collect water from it.
With years of construction the height of the road adjacent to the tube well has increased. Indubitably, due to the road construction and other such infrastructural improvements, the communication to the town has improved. However, what has happened is more than half of the tube well has got filled up with earth following which it is impossible now to collect water from it in buckets.
“We are having a lot of problems while collecting water from the tube well as we cannot collect water in buckets,” a devotee complained.
Echoing the devotees’ sufferings, the temple priest Laxminath Keuta, said, “With the temperature hitting new highs every passing day, devotees coming to the temple are facing problems to collect water. They can’t put a bucket under it the height has decreased so much!”
Meanwhile villagers such as Raghu Keuta, Bharat Keuta and Bhagat Gond raised another complaint about the road.
They said the road, connecting Raighar and Raipur, has been turned into a death trap following the increased number of vehicles plying on it and the frequent repair works.
“Devotees, villagers and children face problems while crossing the road. Though we have taken up the matter up with the local MLA, sarpanch and officials of the concerned departments, no action has been taken yet,” said Bhagat.
They urged the administration to build speed breakers on the road and lift the tube well as well.
PNN