Published: 23rd April 2014 08:09 AM
Bhawanipatna is under the grip of water crisis with many tubewells lying defunct and ambitious projects moving at a snail’s pace. The district administration, though, is yet to wake up from its slumber.
Ironically, the three main projects that were proposed nearly 10 years back to augment water supply system in the town are yet to see light of the day. These projects come under Revised Long Term Action Plan (RLTAP)-1, RLTAP-2 and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).
A piped water supply system was also proposed for the town under which water was to be drawn from the river Hati and supplied to households. But new pipelines under this project are yet to be laid and a partially constructed overhead tank at Weekly Market is lying incomplete for the last two years. Similarly, another overhead tank under construction at Dharamgarh to supply piped water under Biju KBK Yojana is yet to be completed.
Making things worse, the local administration has so far provided just one water tanker at Risida area and is conducting surveys to identify water-stressed pockets in the town which would need tankers. At present, only 4.5 million litre (ML) of water is supplied to residents of Bhawanipatna every day by Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). Of this, 2.7 ML water is supplied through pipes and the remaining 1.5 ML through 12 borewells dug by the PHED. This arrangement, though, does not suffice for the over one lakh population in the town. The PHED also owns 600 tubewells in the town most of which are defunct.
The existing piped water supply system in the town was set up in 1965 to cater to the needs of 20,000 people. Another piped water supply system was proposed in 2004 to meet the water needs of 70,000 people by drawing water from river Hati. Though the aim was to supply 9 ML of water daily, the project has not made much headway.
Similar is the case with two RLTAP and UIDSSMT projects that were also initiated in 2004.
The RLTAP-1 included an intake well at river Hati, 25 km from here, a 350 mm pipeline from the Hati to river Sagada, water treatment plant at Kandh Bandopala and 250 mm pipeline from Kondh Bandopala to Bhawanipatna town which entailed an expenditure of `10 crore. Though in some areas, pipelines were laid, they were damaged during widening of NH-36. Sources said an additional `2.5 crore is required to repair the damaged pipelines.
The RLTAP-2 water project aimed at connecting a 400 mm pipeline from river Hati intake well site to the water treatment plant at Kondh Bandopala. This project would have cost of `8 crore. The UIDSSMIT project, estimated at `9.86 crore, was meant for improving water distribution infrastructure in the town. The project included laying of 30 km-long pipeline, construction of two overhead tanks and three underground reservoirs. While work on the overhead tank at Weekly Market has been left mid-way, that on the other tank and three reservoirs is in progress.
Sources said the three projects are lingering for want of technical manpower in PHED and alleged misappropriation by the contractors concerned. The PHED officials said currently there is just an assistant engineer and one junior engineer, besides four maintenance workers to look after the projects. The executive engineer of the PHED stays at Balangir as he holds dual charges.
In other parts of Kalahandi district, the river beds of Udanti, Ret and Sandool have already dried up and in the absence of alternative drinking water sources, villagers are digging up chahalas (water pits) in search of water.
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