Study shows 40.55% households lack access to safe drinking water in Odisha
Bureau,Odishabarta
An urgent action required to accelerate progress on ensuring safe drinking water for
Bhubaneswar: To deal with the upcoming heat wave conditions and address persistent water scarcity issues among rural households in the state, the Odisha government should initiate timely actions to ensure safe drinking water for all, revealed a study report conducted by NGO Atmashakti Trust and its allies Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha and Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha.
The study, which was undertaken between January to mid-February this year in 9856 villages under 866 GPs of 89 blocks in 15 districts (Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada, Kandhamal, Nayagarh, Nuapada, Kalahandi, Bolangir, Sundargarh, Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Gajapati, Boudh, Nabarangpur, and Deogarh) of Odisha, revealed that out of 937152 households, 40.55% of them lack access to safe drinking water which is alarmingly high.
Alarming trends Of 32960 nos of Tube wells/hand pumps surveyed, 12481 (40.93%) are not working. Of 12478 total stand posts, 6066 (48.6%) of them are found defunct.
The study findings reveal that nearly 6675 (56.12%) villagers use contaminated water in their consumption. While 28.51% of villagers use muddy water, 29.55 % find iron in their drinking water.
Of 937152 households, over 15000 households are deprived of any kind of regular drinking water sources and fully dependent on streams, ponds, and chuans (excavated subterranean water).
Overall, 368694 households lack safe drinking water, which is an alarmingly high 40.55% of the total population.
“Despite implementing Jal Jeevan Mission and Odisha government’s Basudha scheme, safe drinking water continues to elude many rural areas in the state. To avoid this alarming situation, the government should expedite the implementation of its schemes to solve water problems faced by the people,” said Ms. Ruchi Kashyap, Executive Trustee of Atmashakti Trust.
The government should immediately initiate action through its Rural Water Supply & Sanitation (RWSS) to repair defunct tube wells/bore wells and stand posts. Also, water that produces muddy and/or iron content should be treated well before to avoid contamination. Simultaneously, the report recommended that dry pockets/water scarcity hotspots be identified to ensure water availability through tankers to people grappling with drinking water issues, the report suggested
