Village In Odisha's Ganjam Reels Under Water Crisis As Govt Scheme Fails, Ponds Dry Up
The villagers rely on a well for meeting their water needs as the other sources of water have become defunct, reports Sameer Kumar Acharya.
Published : May 30, 2026 at 8:23 PM IST
|Updated : May 31, 2026 at 3:30 PM IST
Berhampur: Amid the unbearable heatwave, residents of Krupasindhupur village in Kukudakhandi block of Odisha's Ganjam district are reeling under an acute water crisis.
Even as the groundwater level has decreased in the village and its surrounding areas, natural water bodies too have dried up due to the heat. The village has two ponds but one of them has dried up. The other pond has not been restored and its water is not fit for drinking and other uses, said locals.
Similarly, the well in the village has dried up, and many tube wells have become non-functional. As if this was not enough, for the last few days, water supply to the village under Basudha scheme has been stopped. The villagers depend on a single well and some dilapidated tubewells for water. The two sources are grossly inadequate to meet the villagers' needs.
Krupasindhupur is home to over 500 families who reside in its four wards. Keeping in mind the drinking water needs of the villagers, the previous state government had constructed a water tank with a capacity of 50,000 litres under the Basudha scheme in the village. The scheme was meant to ensure water supply to every house through taps.
But the water supply was disrupted a few days back. A local said although there are eight tubewells in the village, only two to three are functional. Irked with the state of affairs, the villagers have demanded that water be supplied to their homes through the Janibili Mega Drinking Water Project, which is just 700 to 800 metres away from the village.
A few days ago, a block-level grievance hearing was held at the panchayat headquarters where the villagers informed the officials present about their problem. Ravi Narayan Khadenga, a local, said, "The drinking water crisis that has arisen this year has never been seen before. All the villagers are depending on a well for water. Even as one of the ponds in the village has dried up, no one is paying attention to it."
After the issue was brought to the attention of Digapahandi MLA Sidhant Mohapatra, he sent a departmental engineer to the village and directed them to take a complete look into the drinking water problem. He also directed that the motor for lifting water from the well be repaired if necessary, said a local.
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