JHARSUGUDA: For more than 200 residents of Chhatinagar-Jhupudipara area of Jorabaga in Jharsuguda district, something as basic as drinking water remains a far cry. The coal-rich area, which comes under ward 16 of Belpahar municipality, continues to grapple with scarcity of drinking water for almost two years now.
The municipality provides drinking water through a tanker once every three days which is grossly inadequate to meet requirements of the residents. Problems mount during summer when the ponds and nearby other water bodies dry up. Add to it the two dysfunctional bore wells which stopped working since last one and half years. Ward residents have alleged that they had approached the municipality authorities but their repeated pleas yielded no result.
Option-less, locals, specially women, have to trek more than two km daily to fetch drinking water from a pit. Chintamani Suna, a resident of Jhupuripara, said locals had to dig up a pit at a distance as a last resort. “The borewells are dry. Water supply from the municiality is erratic. What do we do? The only option is making that 2 km walk to fetch drinking water from the pit.”
But that’s not all. It also poses problems of contamination as the pit is close to a drain through which effluents are discharged from nearby Lilari opencast mine. Residents have been approaching officials and ward councillors for a permanent solution, but to no avail, Suna further said.
“This issue has to be addressed at the earliest failing which residents of Jhupuripara will stage protests outside the municipality office,” said Dinabandhu Das, another local. Till now, sources say, authorities concerned have not put in place an action plan for borewell repair or drilling of new ones. Commenting on the issue, executive officer of Belpahar municipality Akshaya Badu said,”We will take needful steps after a spot inquiry.”