RAVANGUDA (BARPALI) : Bijepur by-election has brought hope for water-starved Ravanguda village in Mahada gram panchayat. Reeling under acute water scarcity, the village, situated in Barpali block, was the cynosure of a number of Ministers from the ruling BJD and even Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who took the villagers by surprise during his unscheduled visit to Mahada during campaigning a few days back.
Buoyed by all the attention, the villagers also did not let down the leaders as Ravanguda recorded a voter turnout of 80.45 per cent.
The village, which is divided into three Wards, consists of 263 households and 670 voters. While majority of the villagers are tribal, dalits and weavers also inhabit Ravanguda. Earlier, the village was divided into four Wards. However, it was reconstituted after several families were forced to shift to Bandhpali, Pada and Bijepur due to water woes. While water scarcity is a major problem in the region, it is multi-pronged in Ravanguda.
The village has four tube wells of which two are lying defunct. And the water that comes out from the functional tube wells is not safe for drinking. As the tube well in the village school is lying defunct, the authorities are dependant on a private deep bore well to cook mid-day meals for students. Sources said the entire village depends on a private dug well of a farmer to meet their water needs. With not enough water to drink, the villagers struggle to attend to daily ablution and domestic chores. After the failed monsoon last year, the solitary tank in the village has little water.
The villagers are worried that the water left in the tank may not last enough to pull them through the summer. As per reports, a drinking water project took off in the village six to seven years back. But for reasons best known to the authorities, it was abandoned midway. Moreover, the Anganwadi centre of Ravanguda operates from the house of a villager.
The Anganwadi building lies half-completed since the last two years.
Incidentally, the villages surrounding Ravanguda are irrigated under Hirakud Dam Project. Sources said a check dam across Ranch river flowing near the village could have mitigated the water woes of villagers. However, no effort has been made even in this direction. The farmers of Ravanguda, which is shown as irrigated, are denied crop insurance. The villagers had narrated their grievances to BJD Ministers who had called on them during campaigning for the by-poll. The leaders gave a patient hearing to their woes, but passed on the onus to the Central Government. Will there be an end to the woes of Ravanguda villagers after the outcome of Bijepur by-election? Only time will tell.