JHARSUGUDA:Jharsuguda has been reeling under acute water crisis. People in areas such as Brajrajnagar, Belpahar and Jharsuguda township are struggling for every drop of water with the municipalities unable to meet the requirement.
Consider the case of Brajrajnagar which has a population of 80,500 persons living in 23 wards. Against the requirement of 15.1 million litres per day (MLD) of drinking water, only 3.11 MLD is being supplied.
According to reports, water is provided by RWSS in Wards 8,9,10,11 and 17 through piped water supply scheme. There is partial supply of water in Wards 4,5,6,13,15,16,20 and 22. No water is supplied in the remaining 10 wards. Currently, PHED is working on a water project that entails drawing water from Hirakud reservoir through pipelines, storing it in a filtration plant and supplying it in Brajrajnagar after treatment. A filtration plant of 11 MLD and a reservoir of 48.5-litre capacity would be set up for the purpose and 17.57-km pipeline will be laid.
Likewise in Belpahar, the township gets only 0.5 MLD water against the requirement of 8 MLD. Although water is also being supplied through tankers by MCL and municipality authorities, it does not suffice. Of the existing 19 wards in the town, the PHED is able to supply water through pipelines to only seven wards and the rest 12 wards do not get any water.
According to PHED sources, the total requirement of water in Jharsuguda municipality area is about 138.8 lakh litre while only 49.4 lakh litre is being supplied through standposts and pipes. Jharsuguda Municipality Chairman Harish Ganatra said they are trying to supply water through more tankers in the town and nearby areas. The District Collector has recently convened a meeting to chalk out a contingency plan for water scarcity in five blocks of Lakhanpur, Laikera, Kulabira, Kirmira and Jharsuguda blocks where the waterbodies are getting dried up with rising pollution level.
Project defunct, women take out rally
Berhampur: Women took out a procession at Patrapur on Thursday demanding supply of safe drinking water in the village. Water has become scarce with open wells and ponds going dry. Although the village gets water through pipelines, the supply is inadequate, said Sarpanch A Sridevi, who led the procession. The agitators held a protest meeting later in the day and said they would intensify the agitation if no steps are taken to address the issue. The women said they would also stage a dharna outside the PHED office. Apparently, the water project has been lying defunct for the last few days as a result of which, water supply has been stopped.