Puri: At a time when the entire government machinery is busy fighting the pandemic of COVID-19, some rural pockets of Puri district are facing drinking water crisis due to the advent of summer.
The district administration is yet to hold any meeting to chalk out strategies to tackle drinking water crunch and any possible sunstroke case.
According to sources, some villages of almost all 11 blocks of Puri district usually face drinking water shortage in the summer. The district administration used to hold a couple of high-level meetings in the month of March every year to address the drinking water crisis and chalk out strategy to prevent sunstroke cases.
Soon after the meetings, the district administration usually takes necessary steps to repair defunct tube wells and hand pumps to supply potable water to people. Besides, the administration also deploys some water tankers to solve the drinking water crisis in some remote areas.
Moreover, the administration used to open temporary drinking water kiosks in Puri city and some other places in the district to meet the situation.
However, this year the administration has failed to convene any meeting to deal with the drinking water shortage in rural areas. Similarly, no step has been taken to repair the defunct tube wells and open temporary drinking water kiosks in strategic places.
The administration has been focusing on measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the district, sources added.
In this scenario, drinking water crisis has been reported from some villages of Kanas, Astarang and a few other blocks in the district. “The residents of villages like Sishua, Chhuriana, Jhadalinga, Nuagarh and Nagar of Astarang block have been facing drinking water shortage since last several days. Many tube wells and hand pumps of these villages have turned defunct,” said a local.
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department executive engineer BK Nayak, however, claimed that there was no drinking water crisis in the district. “We have been monitoring the situation. Defunct tube wells in rural areas are being repaired by mobile squads. Besides, we have deployed 40 tankers to supply drinking water to some rural pockets. We have planned to add 80 more tankers to supply potable water to villagers,” Nayak said.