JAGATSINGHPUR: Undeterred by defeat in the recent panchayat elections, a sarpanch candidate of Sanara in Tirtol block went ahead with his poll promises and ensured drinking water supply in his village with recent installation of a tube- well. The tube-well, which has motor pump sets, will supply water at doorstep of households and was finally set up on Monday after a week-long work.
A former havildar in the Indian Army, Nihar Ranjan Mohanty (45) of Barunpada village, had promised during poll campaigning, as a sarpanch candidate, that he would facilitate drinking water facility and other developmental work in the panchayat irrespective of the election outcome. He reportedly spent Rs 50,000 from his pension money towards installation of the tube-well.
Sources said nearly 130 families are staying at Harijansahi in Barunpada village. Since there is no tube-well, the villagers face acute water crisis during summer. Due to water scarcity, they also face problems in perfoming death rituals at the burial ground nearby and rely on Hansua river which is over 1 km away.
Villagers praised Mohanty’s commitment. “We are grateful to Mohanty for being true to his words and need more people like him who work selflessly in public interest. A tube-well in the village will solve a lot of our problems now,” said residents of Harijansah Bhabani Prasad Mallick and Manoranjan Mallick. Among other things, Mohanty said he wishes to renovate the old temple in the neighbouring village and install another tube well in Ainipur, a water-starved village of the same panchayat.
Executive Officer of Sanara panchayat Tofan Das said,”Mohanty stayed true to his commitment and installed the tube-well with his own money as no funds were sanctioned by the panchayat. His action is praise-worthy.”
Backed by the BJD as a sarpanch candidate, Mohanty had lost out to Congress nominee Bikram Kishore Swain by a margin of 230 votes in the rural elections.