By SANTOSH MOHANTY
Piped water project has remained a pipedream for the people of Bantala in Angul district of Odisha. The standpoints erected on the roadside fitted with taps have been damaged. Most of them have vanished as the drinking water project failed to take off due to irresponsible attitude of Sarpanch and Block officials of Angul district.
The Sarpanch and Ward Members of Bantala Gram Panchayat are never worried about the success of drinking water project even as most parts of the region reel under acute shortage of water during summer. To add to this, a large chunk of groundwater table of Bantala Bazar is unfit for consumption due to hard water elements.
The water project was conceived several years ago with a big well being dug near Fisheries Office at Bantala. But, the project was abandoned as ground water table was not sufficient enough to ensure uninterrupted water supply.
Since then the drinking water project has been going through rough weather. The situation has come to such a pass that people of Bantala will never get water through pipes as the water taps installed on the wayside have been damaged and underneath pipes are almost destroyed for being unused over the years.
