Distressed Over Water Crisis, Women Lock Up Pump House In Odisha’s Sambalpur

Distressed over the unending water crisis in their locality, women in Rairakhol Notified Area Council, Ward Number 7 put a lock on  the Water pump house doors in Sambalpur district on Tuesday.

As per reports, the drinking water project that has been taken up by the State govt to provide Mahanadi water to Rairakhol residents is still not complete. The locals claim that the water provided by the PH Department (PHD) is inadequate for households about which they have already informed the concerned administration. However, the administration’s attitude towards their problems has been callous, alleged the locals.

 Irked over the administration’s apathy, womenfolk in the area locked up the water pump house today morning.

“We had approached the Sub-collector and he assured us that after the completion of the water project the crisis will end. The PHD is providing water tanker following our demands which is still inadequate for the requirements of every household. Now, when we approached the administration for help they seem to be least bothered about our problems,” said Janaki Pal a resident.

Speaking in agreement, another resident, Sanjukta Purohit, said “These days even tankers are not being provided regularly as it used to be earlier. Water is provided to some households and they are using pumps to store more water, depriving others of the required water, or nothing at all. When we tried to intimate the relevant authorities over the problem, they instead asked us to find solutions on our own. They are simply not ready to listen," alleged another resident.

By Ashutosh Mallik