A long walk to fetch water: Acute water crisis taking toll on Kendrapara villagers

Residents of Jyotiprasad village under Talachua Panchayat of Odisha’s Kendrapara district are grappling with an acute shortage of water as summer progresses and the heat intensifies. The villagers, including women and children, are compelled to endure the arduous task of walking, with pots and buckets, almost two kilometres daily to collect water, a situation they have been facing for the last several decades.

Sole Tube Well Serves Hundreds

Currently, the village has only one functioning tube well, serving around 30 families in Jyotiprasad and a further 30 families from nearby Rajpatna. More than 300 people are dependent on this single water source, highlighting the severity of the crisis.

Women carrying children make long queues to access this precious resource, as piped water remains a distant dream. For the residents, the idea of having access to piped water remains an unattainable dream.

Infrastructure Challenges Persist

Every day, residents from Rajpatna reportedly cross a bamboo bridge and walk nearly two kilometers to reach the tube well. Despite the length of time this issue has persisted, the local water supply department has yet to take effective action.

“We have been demanding proper water supply for the last 20 years, but our pleas fall on deaf ears. Concerned officials and political representatives are the least bothered about our problems. The situation turns worse during the summer. So, all we demand is a proper tube well in our village,” a villager stated.

Promises of Action

An executive officer from the department has now assured villagers that steps will be taken to address the issue promptly.

When contacted, Basant Sethy, Assistant Executive Engineer, RWSS, Pattamundai, stated, “I have got information that the tube well is a bit far from the village. We have put the village on the list for tube well renovation this year. Once the fund is sanctioned, we will dig a tube well as soon as possible in the village.”