Banarpal: Villagers of Rankasingha village of Kukudanga panchayat under this block in Angul district have been facing drinking water scarcity for the past couple of years.
In summer season, the least said about the problem the better.
In the absence of any source of clean water, here the villagers are collecting the untreated water directly from Nandira rivulet, which flows near the village.
The village is inhabited by 80 families. It has seven tube wells and one open well. Of the seven tube wells, four are lying defunct and the remaining three are not dispensing enough water to meet the villagers’ need owing to depletion of groundwater.
“Since we don’t have any source of clean water, we are forced to use Nandira rivulet water. Our neighbouring village has piped drinking water facility. But we are deprived of it. We have taken the issue many a time up with the district administration, but to no avail. The defunct tube wells are also not being repaired,” alleged some villagers including Jolly Rani Das, Subhadra Das, Rashmi Das and Sisir Das.
When contacted, sarpanch Pratap Senapati said he was aware of the drinking water problem faced by Rankasingha villagers. “The problem is there because the village is yet to get piped drinking water facility. A proposal in this regard has been given to the administration,” said Senapati.
Banarpal block development officer (BDO) Elija Mishra said steps will be taken after verifying the situation in the village.
PNN
