While the entire state of Odisha is reeling under the heat wave, Malkangiri is witnessing a drinking water crisis. While the state government is giving the slogan of “water is life,” the opposite picture is seen in Champakhari village under Sindrimal panchayat of Malkangiri district.
There are 120 families in this village, while the number of people living in this village is more than one thousand, but sadly and ironically, the only water that satisfies their thirst is the water from the only tube well in the village school. In the morning, a long queue forms at the school tube well to get water; after waiting for hours, even a pot of water is available, which cannot satisfy the family members. Such a problem arises every year in the summer.
Despite the villagers informing the local Gosti Development Officer, the local Sarpanch, and the PIO about this problem, today the villagers have blocked the national highway connecting Jaipur to Malkangiri with pots and pans as the administration has not resolved the drinking water problem. The local administration was awakened by the siege and has promised to immediately reach the village, repair the broken tube well, and provide water to vehicles every morning through a pipe.
