Water Woes Haunt Odisha Village In Scorching Heat

Gajapati: With soaring mercury level across the State, acute shortage of drinking water has doubled the misery of Patapadar under Mohana block in the district.

Villagers alleged that a solar water project was installed in the village but it is lying defunct for the last one year. Moreover, the ponds, tanks and other water bodies have dried up due to the scorching summer.

Sources said a solar water supply project was constructed in 2020 at a cost of Rs 5 lakh under CFCA to address the water crisis in the village. However, it developed technical glitches in a year and failed to serve the purpose.

Villagers alleged that they brought the matter to the notice of concerned officials, but to no avail.

“We have requested the government authorities several times, but got nothing except assurance. Political leaders rush to our village and make tall promises only during poll, but, they all have vanished,” said Manjari, a local resident.

Pranati Naik, another local said, “We have around 50-60 families while only piped water connection has been provided with, which is insufficient for us. No other options like tube well, open well are available in the village to carter to our needs. We are struggling to fetch a bucket of water for our daily needs.”

Mohana GPEO said Narasingha Mandangi said that he has been trying to sort out the problem.
“A Solar water supply unit was installed in the village to address the water problem, but it is defunct now. We are trying to repair it at the earliest,” he added.

In the meantime, work order has been passed to dig an open well under MGNREGA to sort out the water problem temporarily. Drinking water is also provided through tankers, he pointed out.