Hope for safe drinking water dashed in Odisha village

Two years ago, residents of Girliguda in Odisha's Koraput district were hopeful about getting regular supply of safe drinking water as a Rs 19 lakh rural piped water supply project was launched in the village.
But the euphoria over the project was short-lived with residents of the village located in Kundra block receiving water only for a few weeks.
The villagers say they had approached the authorities concerned many times, requesting them to look into the matter but to no avail.
"A month after completion of the project, we started receiving polluted water as it was not possible to clean the water tank because no staircase was constructed to reach the water tank. Subsequently the pipelines got chocked," alleged Naresh Nag, a villager.

The residents said the officials concerned should have made the project operational after completing the work.
"This is gross wastage of public money. The officials should be held responsible and appropriate action taken," said Narendra Pradhan, an activist.
Sources said the water storage capacity of the tank is 30,000 litres and as many as 17 stand-points were constructed to provide safe drinking water to the villagers.
Admitting that the project is non-functional, sub-divisional officer of rural water supply and sanitation (Jeypore), Tapan Rout, said, "At that time the staircase could not be constructed due to some reason but it will be constructed soon.