As the heat rises in

Odisha, water is a
scarce commodity
In steel city Rourkela, a massive drinking water crisis is
unfolding in the Rourkela Steel Plant township due to the
drying up of the river Koel which provides water to the
city.

Written by Debabrata Mohanty | Published: April 20, 2016 8:34 pm

The heat has been so intense that places like Titlagarh in Bolangir
district(which recorded the season’s highest 46.5 degree Celsius),
Sundargarh and Sonepur have registered temperatures of more than 44
degree C.

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The state government last

month directed the schools to
conduct morning classes from April 2 till May 1 as heat wave
conditions intensified in the state. The schools were directed to conduct
classes from 6.30 am to 10.30 am. The government was left with no choice
but to close the schools after the Met department sounded a warning that
the mercury was set to rise further from April 22.

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Odisha sounds heatwave alert in coastal districts

With westerly winds sweeping through the state for the last 12 days the
temperature in more than a dozen places in the state has turned them into
been cauldrons. The heat has been so intense that places like Titlagarh in
Bolangir district(which recorded the season’s highest 46.5 degree
Celsius), Sundargarh and Sonepur have registered temperatures of more
than 44 degree C.

Odisha always faced a parched summer due to the poor provision of

drinking water in rural and urban areas. But this summer it has been worse.
In steel city Rourkela, a massive drinking water crisis is unfolding in the
Rourkela Steel Plant township due to the drying up of the river Koel which
provides water to the city.

Against a demand of 15.5 million gallons per day, RSP is able to supply
less than half to its employees. With their taps running dry, people are
apparently wary of inviting guests to their home as they can’t offer them a
glass of
water. The RSP employees are now queuing up near tube-wells or
water tankers. In Keonjhar, two kids allegedly died after
drinking contaminated water. In several slums of Bhubaneswar the water
crisis has turned serious while several tribal settlements around Byree
area of Jajpur district are now being provided with water tankers by
private donors.

Last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General found that drinking water
in adequate quantity was not supplied to people in 95 out of 106 urban
areas of the state. During 2009-14, 17 water supply projects with project
cost of Rs 407.03 crore were sanctioned by the Centre and central
assistance for Rs 197.39 crore was received. However, for six projects in
Angul, Berhampur, Bhawanipatna, Jharsuguda, Parlakhemundi and
Phulbani, central assistance was not released as the Public
Health Engineering Organisation failed to utilise 70 per cent of the scheme
fund in time. The CAG audit found that in Bolangir, Bhanjanagar,
Berhampur and Rourkela public health divisions, eight water supply
works remained incomplete even after eight to 47 months of their starting.

In view of the acute drinking water crisis and intense heatwave, the Odisha
government today announced provision of free drinking water to the poor
in all urban areas. An amount of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the
purpose while the office of Special Relief Commissioner will give another
Rs 25 crore. Wherever required water will be provided through tankers.
The government will also sink a tubewell in each of the 27,711 areas
spending around Rs 195 crore. In rural areas all grampanchayats have been
asked to spend 30 per cent of the panchayat funds towards piped water
supply.

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