Road blockade in Odisha's Jajpur to protest potable water crisis

The agitators alleged that they have to wait for hours to fetch drinking water from the lone tube-well in the village.
Villagers blocking road near Pankapal Sasan with empty pitchers and buckets | Express
Villagers blocking road near Pankapal Sasan with empty pitchers and buckets | Express

JAJPUR: Reeling under acute scarcity of water, villagers of Nuasahi in Danagadi block on Tuesday resorted to road blockade near Pankapal Sasan with empty pitchers and buckets demanding a permanent solution to the crisis.

The agitators alleged that they have to wait for hours to fetch drinking water from the lone tube-well in the village. The tube-well does not discharge adequate water due to depletion of the groundwater level during summer, they said.

Nuasahi has a population of around 250 and the residents are mostly daily wage earners. Basanti Dei, a villager, said the administration had installed the tube-well in the village a couple of years back. “The entire village depends on the tube-well for potable water. In rainy and winter seasons, we manage to collect enough water from the tube-well as the flow was good. But in summer months, we face drinking water woes. Due to depletion of groundwater level, the flow is slow and we have to wait for hours together near the tube-well to fetch a bucket of water,” she rued.

With harsh summer months ahead, villagers fear the water crisis will worsen in the coming days. The issue has been raised before the block administration of Danagadi in the past but to no avail.

Rabindra, another villager, said, “We made several rounds of the local block office and apprised the authorities of our problem. We also requested the officials to make an alternate arrangement to meet our potable water needs. However, all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”

Later in the day, block officials reached the protest site and held discussion with the agitators. The road blockade was lifted after the officials and Pankpal sarpanch Prabodh Kumar Jena assured the villagers of making arrangement to provide potable water in Nuasahi.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The New Indian Express
www.newindianexpress.com