Project to provide potable water to needy Odisha villages

Bhubaneswar: The Indian arm of a global relief organization has tied up with an Odisha NGO to ensure access to safe and potable drinking water for above 4,000 families from 20 villages in the state's Balangir and Bargarh districts during peak summer months (April-July), it was announced on Monday.

In collaboration with local NGO Ahinsa Club, issues relating to water scarcity disrupting lives in the region were identified and "Project Jalseva" was introduced, Dola Mohapatra, Executive Director, Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) said in a statement.

He said the project was launched to cater to the needs of the villagers and provide them solutions to overcome the issues of water scarcity, fluoride contamination and water treatment.

"The teams on-ground have deployed water counters at critical road points to enable the community around the villages to get drinking water.

"These counters are monitored by a water committee set-up within the project, to ensure that there is proper maintenance, testing and treatment of water and proper utilization of the available water resources," Mohapatra said.

The team, he said, was also working on creating a water reservoir called the "Chahala", which in the long run will be a sustainable solution providing clean, fluoride-free drinking water to the villagers as well as the cattle.