Kolabnagar: A well at Bazaar colony under Badakerenga panchayat of Sadar block in Koraput has turned out to be a curse to the inhabitants of Badanayakguda village and the Bazaar colony. They have stopped drawing water from it, and is faced with a serious water problem. This, after the local administration dug up a drain in the area and messed up with things.
Locals say the water of the well is no longer fit for consumption as it gets contaminated with the drain water.
While the drain was laid out by the administration, there is lack of regular maintenance and desilting work, and hence it is filled with dirty water. The drain overflows even whenever there is a rainfall. With piling of garbage near the well, the drain water overflows during rain. It seeps through the soil and mixes with the water in the well.
Locals now see the well’s water as poison. They say the use of the well’s water meant inviting diseases. Several inhabitants are suffering from various diseases as a result, they say.
Though the local Sarpanch was urged to set things right, no step has been taken yet.
Krushna Chandra Pradhan, Sibaram Padhi, Bhagaban Pradhan, Gopinath Behera and some other inhabitants of the area now say they would gherao the panchayat office if the drain is not repaired and the garbage not lifted from the site.
