Villagers in Jajpur’s mining block walk miles for drinking water, admn flags unsafe use

Kendrapada: Every morning, 38-year-old Malati Marandi from Balipada village in Jajpur district’s Sukinda block treks over a kilometre to fetch water from a stream to quench the thirst of four members of her family.Like Malati, many women from the tribal-dominated villages of Balipada, Kumada, Ostapal, Sarubil, Talangi and others around the chromite mines depend on the stream due to an alleged shortage of safe drinking water, a practice that the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) has flagged as unsafe due to contamination. RWSS also claimed that water is supplied through pipelines, but is being used in agricultural activities.Rajani Soren (32) of Talangi village said authorities sealed two tube-wells in Balipada last year when several villagers fell ill after drinking contaminated water. “The authorities promised to supply water from pipelines or tankers in the summer to quench the thirst of poor tribal people. But they have failed to keep their promise, and as a result large number of villagers have to depend on a stream around 1.5km from their villages for water.”RWSS assistant executive engineer, Dasarath Nayak said last year the authorities sealed 11 bore tube-wells to save the lives of people from cancer, skin ulcers, and organ damage near the chromite mines.Hexavalent chromium is a highly toxic, carcinogenic chemical resulting from mining activities, causing serious pollution in water, soil, and air, Nayak pointed out.“We are supplying water to many villages through pipelines. But most of the villagers use drinking water to irrigate their lands and other agricultural purposes and collect drinking water from the stream, far away from their villages. Many tribal people consider stream water to be good for their health,” Nayak said.“We have been trying our best to convince them to only drink water supplied by the govt. Some conscious villagers boil the stream water. But the majority of the villagers drink water from streams and other sources without even filtering the water,” he added.