BERHAMPUR: For 300 people of Indira Sahi village under Bramhanigaon panchayat of Kandhamal district, the only source of water is a tubewell. Due to depletion of ground water level, water flow from the tubewell is thin and women wait for several hours to collect a bucket of water. Sometimes, men queue up near the tubewell to collect water in the night.
Water problem in the village is a decade-old issue. Indira Sahi had two tubewells installed at two ends of the village.However, during summer, the tubewell on the upper end of the village becomes defunct and the one at the lower end functions. During other seasons, villagers depend on a stream located 2 km from the village. This year, they have placed boulders near the stream to store water.
The block officials said they are aware of the problem and steps are being taken to sink more tubewells in the village soon.