Kendrapara township in Orissa facing drinking water scarcity

KENDRAPARA, ODISHA: The fast-expanding Kendrapara township in Odisha is reeling under drinking water crisis and erratic supply of it has made life difficult for its residents.

Public health engineering department officials attribute the lack of potable water in large areas of the township to technical snags in motor pumps and erratic power supply.

"Local officials are contending with multiple problems for driniking water supply. Drinking water is being drawn from Luna river near Kalapada village. The water is purified scientifically in the treatment plant at Ichapur in Kendrapara," said superintendent engineer of public health department, Basanta Kumar Senapati.

Problems arise as there are frequent load sheddings and unscheduled power cuts at both of these strategic points, he said.

The department had deposited Rs 35 lakh with the Central Electricity Supply Utility ( CESU), the power supply agency, for a separate electric power supply to the water intake and treatment points. The deposit was made over a decade ago. However, nothing was done as yet.

The township has 22 km-long underground pipelines, which have developed cracks at several places leading to contamination and wastage of potable water, said a public health officer here.

The unauthorised domestic water consumption is also a cause of concern. While there are 2,603 authorised connections in the urban areas, over a thousand domestic households draw water by way of unauthorized connections.

The chronic water deficient areas in the town round the year are Nasadipur, Baranga, Saranga and Jayipura.

"We hardly get water for an hour early in the morning. For the rest of the day, the taps go dry," remarked Begum Rukshana, a homemaker from Jayipura locality of the town.

The township requires at least 8 lakh gallons of drinking water daily. But the supply falls short of it.