ROURKELA: A vast slum population of Rourkela City is reeling under water scarcity. Inadequate piped water supply and failure of tubewells have only added to the woes of the slum dwellers.
About 30,000 people, living in 18 large and small slum pockets between Malgodown area and Timber Colony, are already facing the shortage as the temperature hovers around 42 degree Celsius in the Steel City.
The slum clusters are in Wards 10, 11, 12 and 13 of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC). Only those living on the fringes of the slums get water from the main pipeline of Public Health & Engineering Department (PHED). Rourkela District Congress Committee president Biren Senapati described the situation as grim. About 75 per cent of total 200 tubewells and some stand-posts of PHED do not ooze water while some influential persons having deep borewells are selling water for `300 to `400 per month. The six deep borewells of oil marketing companies __ IOCL, BPCL and HPCL __ are not working properly, he added and urged the city administration, RMC and PHED to respond to the crisis immediately.
Senior BJP leader Pramila Das, admitting to the water woes, said installation of eight deep borewells by the companies and utilisation of MPLAD fund of Union Minister Jual Oram have mitigated the crisis to some extent.
Like last year, the city administration should immediately provide 40 PVC tanks to most dry pockets and store water in them through tankers, said locals.
Executive Engineer, PHED, Anup Patel assured that steps will be taken to mitigate the suffering of the people and hoped that after completion of several ongoing drinking water projects, the city will not face water crisis.