As large parts of Odisha continue to reel under intense summer heat, residents of a village in Bhadrak district are struggling for drinking water, with several families forced to walk nearly two kilometres every day to collect water for their daily needs.

The situation has been reported from Ishanpur village under Shyamsundarpur panchayat in Tihidi block, where around 15 families have allegedly been facing acute drinking water shortage for nearly 12 years.

Villagers allege repeated complaints yielded no result

According to villagers, their daily struggle begins early in the morning as women, elderly persons and other family members walk long distances carrying pots and containers to fetch water from another location.

Villager Jogesh Mallick alleged that despite repeated complaints to ministers, administrative officials, the sarpanch, block chairman and BDO, no permanent drinking water facility has been provided to the locality so far.

“We have been demanding a tube well for years, but nothing happened. Nearby areas have tube wells, and in one place two tube wells have reportedly been installed within a very short distance for personal use, while our locality still has no proper facility,” he alleged.

Residents said the ongoing heatwave conditions have made the water crisis even more difficult for families living in the area.

Villagers oppose tube well installation on private land

The issue further intensified after villagers alleged that a government tube well sanctioned for the area was being installed on private land instead of at a common public place accessible to everyone.

Opposing the move, villagers submitted written complaints to the Tihidi BDO and the local sarpanch demanding that the tube well be installed on government land for public use.

They argued that facilities meant for the public should not come under private control and demanded immediate intervention by the administration.

Administration says inquiry underway

Responding to the allegations, Tihidi BDO Niranjan Barik said the administration is aware of the issue and has already received complaints from villagers.

He said the affected families had shifted from their original village and settled at a nearby location and are currently depending on water sources from their earlier village.

The BDO further stated that arrangements are being made for installation of a tube well in the area.

“As alleged by villagers, if any government tube well is being installed on private property, the matter will be investigated and action will be taken accordingly,” he said.