Janla: The state government spends a huge amount of money to provide potable water to every household, but many people are deprived of this basic necessity due to the inefficiency and callousness of the officials concerned.
A drinking water project at Deulipatna village of Madanpur panchayat under Jatni block is a classic case of official apathy and wastage of public money. The state government had constructed a drinking water project at Deulipatna by spending around Rs 50 lakh at least eight years ago. The project was supposed to cater to the needs of 5,000 villagers.
The authorities concerned had constructed an open well, a water storage facility and a filter room for the project. They had also started laying pipes to supply drinking water to the villagers.
However, the work was abandoned midway due to some unknown reasons, alleged locals. Consequently, the villagers could not get any benefit from the mega project.
However, the authorities concerned had provided drinking water facilities to some families of the Adivasi Sahi of the village recently in the wake of frequent agitations by the locals.
However, a portion of the open well’s wall collapsed around 15 days ago owing to sub-standard work. As a result, water supply to the residents of Adivasi Sahi was discontinued, sources said.
The villagers, led by Baishnab Charan Jaysingh and Purnachandra Sahu, had lodged a complaint in this regard with the authorities but to no avail. They have demanded a high-level probe into the issue.
Jatni Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Department engineer Eliza Mallick said, “The project could not be completed due to inadequate source of water. We have proposed a new drinking water project at another place at Deulipatna. We would soon take steps to repair the damaged wall of the open well.”
