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New Indian Express
14-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Road blockade over safe drinking water demand in Odisha's Marsaghai
KENDRAPARA: Residents of several villages in Marsaghai blocked the Haladiagada-Patkura road at Sasinipada here demanding safe drinking water on Tuesday. The agitators, mostly women, blocked the movement of vehicles including buses on the road for around four hours alleging irregular supply of drinking water and delay in repair of defunct tube-wells in Talasanga, Sasinipada, Garajanga, Kharadasahi, Kurapala, Berua and other villages under Marsaghai block. The villagers also took out a rally demanding regular supply of water. Smitarani Jena (29) of Sasinipada village claimed, 'We have been facing erratic water supply since long. Despite taking up the issue with the officials concerned several times in the past, no steps have been taken to resolve the water crisis.' The protest would be intensified if the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department fails to provide water to the villages through tankers everyday, she warned. Sources said a Rs 241 crore mega drinking water supply project, the foundation stone of which was laid in 2018, is yet to be completed. The ambitious project aims to provide water to 148 villages under 26 gram panchayats in Mahakalapada block and 52 villages of 16 gram panchayats in Marsaghai.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Women-led stir over water woes in Kendrapada district
Kendrapda: Led predominantly by women, hundreds of residents from six villages in Marsaghai block of Kendrapada district staged a four-hour road blockade on Tuesday, protesting against erratic drinking water supply and defunct tube-wells. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The agitation disrupted vehicular movement on the Haladiagada–Patkura road near also held a rally, warning that protests would intensify if the rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) department fails to ensure regular water tanker services. The agitating villagers are from Talasanga, Sasinipada, Garajanga, Kharadasahi, Kurapala, and Berua. "We have been facing irregular water supply for a long time. Despite multiple complaints to officials, no action has been taken," said Smitarani Jena, a resident of executive engineer Basant Nayak attributed the water crisis to falling groundwater levels due to scant rainfall. "We are supplying tankers to the affected villages. Around 80% of the project work is complete and should be finished this year," said region has been battling salinity issues for the past two decades. "Many villages once had sweet water, but salinity has risen over the years, affecting both drinking water and agriculture," said Niranjan Behera a resident of Berua protest follows a similar agitation on April 22, when women in Badakula gram panchayat blocked roads with empty pots, demanding potable water. A Rs 241-crore mega drinking water project, announced in 2018 to serve 200 villages across 42 gram panchayats, remains incomplete.
