KENDRAPARA: With the summer at its peak, the villages in the coastal pockets of Rajnagar block are in the grip of acute water scarcity.
Villages in 29-gram panchayats of the block are facing the crisis owing to the exploitation of groundwater and the ingress of saline water over the years. In several such villages, the groundwater level has gone down by one-two metre below normal.
A large number of wells, dug by villagers last month, have already dried up. In the absence of regulations, the sites for borewells were selected indiscriminately.
Rabinarayan Mishra of Rajnagar said several such bore-wells are being used for irrigation purposes.
This has resulted in depletion of groundwater level and ingress of saline water in the surrounding areas. With drinking water becoming more scarce than ever, women and children carrying pitchers can be seen walking in small groups in search of water.
The water in the well at the house of Abhaya Behera of Badadia village in Dangamala gram panchayat has turned salty due to the ingress of saline water in the area. This has also affected the fertility of agricultural land in the village.
Sarpanch of Bhitargada gram panchayat, Sangita Bal said a project to supply drinking water through pipelines to the villages, whose foundation stone was laid on March 12, 2018, is moving at a snail’s pace.
Assistant engineer of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Rajnagar Dilip Kumar Samantray said, “Out of 1,843 tube wells in the block, 184 has been rendered defunct this summer.
“Salinity is a major problem in the seaside villages. Work on a drinking water project will start soon. We hope the proposed water pipeline project will solve the problem of groundwater salinity and water shortage,” he said.