Jajpur: The ambitious solar-powered piped water supply (PWS) projects in nine coastal districts affected by floods and cyclones have not yet started. The proposal to this effect has remained non-starter. According to reports, in May, 2019, the engineer-in chief of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department made a proposal to the Panchayati Raj department to run PWS projects with both electricity and solar power at places where electricity is inaccessible.
It was stated that 4,315 PWS projects will be implemented in Balasore, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Ganjam, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Khurda and Puri districts at an estimated cost of Rs 345.20 crore which will be funded by the World Bank. Nearly, Rs 0.08 crore will be spent for each project.
Three years have passed since the RWSS moved this proposal, but the state government has not taken any step on it. Each year, people of these coastal districts are affected with floods and cyclones.
Power supply gets disrupted for days together worsening the plight of the people in the flood hit pockets when they struggle to get safe drinking water in these areas. Keeping this problem in view, the RWSS had taken a far-sighted proposal to harness solar energy in these flood-prone areas to ensure safe drinking water. However, the proposal has remained confined to the administrative red tape. On the other hand, as many as 200 solar-run piped drinking water projects have been set up in three phases in Jajpur. However, most of the projects are not working due to use of sub-standard equipment and machinery.
The construction agency allegedly got away with money by compromising with quality of work. Most of the projects fail to cater to the drinking water needs of the locals. Last year, Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) had conducted a survey on effective public utility of solar projects in Jajpur. In the survey, it was found that some projects had functioned for a maximum of 281 days since the day of commissioning. Some projects even went defunct within 15 days of operation.
In Dharmasala block, a solar powered drinking water project at Endalaba Bichhakhandi Mundasahi had run for 219 days before going kaput. Similarly, Patapur Harijanasahi project had run for 218 days and Patapur Badabarisahi project for 13 days only. In Sukinda block, Gobarakhati Mirgichar project ran for 177 days; Chingudipal Chhatanagar Mundasahi project for 169 days and Kharadi project for 211 days.
In Barchana block, Paria Sabarsahi project was effective for 281 days, Bhusandhapur Adabashisahi project for 131 days and Charinangal Jharkul project for 13 days. It was alleged that solar powered pump sets used for these projects were of poor quality. Executive engineer of the Jajpur RWSS division, Sushant Kumar Ghadei was contacted over phone but he did not pick up the call.