With no government help, Odisha villagers lay water pipeline on their own

Residents of Sagakiari, a remote village under Saba panchayat in Dharakot block of Odisha’s Ganjam district, have successfully addressed a years-long drinking water crisis by laying a 4-kilometre pipeline from a nearby hill stream.

Despite repeated appeals to the government, the issue remained unresolved, prompting villagers to take matters into their own hands. The pipe, installed through forested and hilly terrain, now connects a hill stream directly to the village. Initially, villagers were fetching water manually from the stream located 4 kilometres away.

Abhiram Dalbehera, a local resident, said, “Nearly 30 families reside here, and the population is over 100. The drinking water issue has been persisting for a long time. Facing continued difficulties, we took the initiative ourselves to arrange a drinking water supply from the nearby stream.”

Sagakiari has over 30 households and a population exceeding 100. The village has only one tubewell, which yields just 3 to 4 pots of water, worsening the situation during summer. In response, the community contributed funds to purchase the pipe and took turns working to install it. At present, one of the two installed pipes is supplying water, while the second remains dry due to reduced flow in the stream.

Shriya Dalbehera, another resident, shared her frustration and said, “We managed to get a drinking water supply from the nearby waterfall by collecting money from each family. All of us are adjusting to whatever amount of water we receive through the pipes we have installed for the supply.”

Basumati Raita, a local, stated, “The government authorities told us that they had made drinking water available, but nothing happened. They did not even construct a new tubewell for us.”

The Dharakot Block Development Officer noted that the absence of a road had previously hindered government action. With road access now in place, arrangements are being planned to provide drinking water through solar-powered systems.

Denis Behera, Dharakot BDO, responded, “The village did not have motorable roads, but construction is currently underway through the Rural Development department. Once roads are available, we will make a permanent arrangement for the drinking water supply.”