TV
For several years, tribals of three villages in Goudagotha Gram Panchayat under Soroda block in Ganjam district considered safe drinking water a treasured item in their households.
Blessed by nature with abundant resources, these people were neglected by government officials as they had to rely on nullahs or pits for drinking water, bathing, and washing clothes or domestic animals.
Finally, they decided not to wait for any help of provisioning of amenities for safe drinking water by the administration. They resolved to find their own way out of the crisis and constructed around three kilometers of pipelines using bamboo to fetch water from the springs originating from surrounding hills to their doorstep.
Initially, it was the villagers of Pedipadar village who adopted the innovative way to bring the spring water to their village through bamboo pipelines to meet different purposes. They even used the water to irrigate their farmlands to some extent.
Later when the ingenious pipeline often got damaged, they gradually replaced it with iron pipes with little amount of help from the administration.
“The innovative way to bring water from the springs atop the hills to our village is of great help. Apart from using the water in our daily household chores, we are also using it to irrigate our farmlands to some extent,” said Kemika Sabar, a resident of Pedipadar village.
“In rainy days, we often get muddy and contaminated water through the pipelines. Moreover, the system becomes defunct during summer. We request the administration to make some alternative arrangement to provide us drinking water during these times of the year,” said Josua Sabar, another villager.
Following the development, neighbouring villagers of Sagadabasa and Akashnagar also got inspired and they too brought water from the springs of the nearby hills through a similar method.
Using bamboo pipes, they store the water inside tanks in the middle of their villages and subsequently use it for various purposes. Recently, they have replaced the bamboo pipes with PVC pipes by spending money from their own pockets.
“Initially, we decided to use bamboo to ensure there was minimum expense. However, the pipeline required maintenance and replacement at regular intervals and it was not feasible in the long run. Hence, we converted those to PVC pipes,” said Bishna Gamango, a villager of Sagadabasa.
