They Are Unable to Offer a Glass of Water

BERHAMPUR: At Sorolo and Kaitha villages under Chikiti Assembly segment, no one offers a glass of water to an outsider. For women of both the villages trek at least 3  km everyday to fetch drinking water. Men, similarly, bring water from nearby villages in containers on their vehicles. At Govindpur Chowk, 3 km away from the villages, there is a standpost that meets the water requirements of the villages.

Sorolo and Kaitha are located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha under Sorolo panchayat that lies close to the sea. The panchayat comprises 17 Wards with a population of 1,800 families, as per government records. Unofficially, there are 2,400 families, mostly belonging to the fishermen community. Drinking water crisis is the biggest problem they face not just during summer but throughout the year.

A villager of Sorolo said there is everything in the village except water. “There is so much hard work that goes into fetching water that we do not even think twice before saying ‘no’ to any person wanting a glass of water,” said villager Niranjan Behera.

There are two projects __ piped water supply by RWSS and renovation of dying water bodies under Odisha Disaster Recover Project (ODRP) __ that are being implemented in the villages. However, these two have been of little help. While many of the standposts have been lying defunct, water bodies have already dried up.

Recently, a group of people from both the villages met Additional BDO Ramakanta Sahu at Chikiti block office and urged him to provide water tankers to the villagers.

WATER CRY

Sorolo and Kaitha are located on the border of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha under Sorolo panchayat that lies close to the sea

The panchayat comprises 17 Wards with a population of 1,800 families

Drinking water crisis is the biggest problem they face not just during summer but throughout the year