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Balangir in Orissa, known as one of India’s poorest regions, is facing an acute water scarcity, thanks to the administration’s neglect of the natural waterbodies and tanks that once took care of all the citizens’ water needs
Infamous for its chronic poverty, Balangir is one of the districts in the KBK (Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi) zone, recognised as one of India’s poorest regions. This erstwhile capital of the princely state of Patna was once princely also in the management of its water supply. A plethora of traditional tanks (known locally as sagar or bandh) of varying sizes were connected to each other, catering to the needs of the town. Today, Balangir is known more for its inadequate, inefficient water supply system. In the past, natural waterbodies easily met the demands of people living in the town. Maharani Sagar, a 107-acre tank, supplied water to Balangir till as recently as 2000. Then the tank fell into disuse, largely as a result of the apathy of the administration that stayed silent on the issue of encroachments. Reduced tank capacity forced the water department to take water from the Suktel river, 16 km from the town. But since this is not a perennial river, meeting the demands of the growing town -- now with a population of around 100,000, as against 85,000 in 2001 -- was still difficult. Water is currently being supplied from the Mahanadi river, 50 km from town. This comes with its attendant problems, the most important being piercing of supply pipes at several points by farmers to irrigate lands en route. “It is true that surface waterbodies are not perennial rivers, but a proper plan to revive and manage these structures could make things simpler,” says Sanjaya Mishra, a local social activist. “Maharani Sagar caters to the bathing and drinking water needs of at least 20,000-30,000 people daily, even during the summer,” he adds. The people of Balangir had never experienced a water shortage earlier, except in very poor rainfall years. “While we had nearly 100 tanks in the town itself, a canal network used to feed water from Lakshmijor dam to Maharani Sagar, Rani Bandh, Karanga Kata, Narasingh Bandh, Gate Sarobar and Gheekuanri Bandh,” says senior activist Sashibhusan Purohit. Around four years ago, a group of local youth embarked on a drive to rid Maharani Sagar of encroachments and bring it into active use again. Under the banner of the Maharani Sagar Surakshya Parishad they organised rallies, road-blocks, etc, to raise public awareness and pressurise the administration to revive the tank. They also offered to work voluntarily for this purpose. But members of the group were booked by the police (though not arrested) for breaching the peace. Satya Sundar Bhanja, convenor of the Parishad, says: “Years of neglect by the authorities have virtually turned Maharani Sagar into a garbage dump, forcing us to agitate. The false cases lodged against us will not deter us from continuing the agitation.” Officials at the public health and engineering department (PHED), that supplies water to the town, maintain that water is being supplied according to demand. The department says an average of 100 LPCD is being supplied to Balangir from the Mahanadi river through a 50 km pipeline and two production wells in the town itself. But the people don’t buy this. “We get water for less than an hour, once in five to seven days,” complains Sukanta Sahoo of Salepali who is one of the very few people in town with a legal pipeline. “People here are willing to pay more, but the water does not come. So there is no meaning to a legal connection,” says Sudeep Guru, a journalist. The facts provided by the department justify Guru’s arguments. There are about 3,500 household-level connections in Balangir; the rest of the people depend on public taps and wells. Ironically, PHED officials put the blame on the electricity department. “Bringing water from a distance depends on several factors. The blame game between the PHED and the electricity department is just an effort to shed the prime responsibility of providing water to the people,” argues Hemanta Panda, a political activist. “Drinking water should be looked at as a fundamental right, and the responsibility of providing it lies with the government. But in Balangir, only around 35% of people enjoy water supply -- that too in an irregular manner. There is both administration lacunae and lack of political will to solve the crisis,” he adds. “We have invited this fate on ourselves by forgetting the major role our tanks play in solving water crises.” This view is shared by the chairperson of Balangir municipality, Damayanti Bagh. “We receive at least 20 complaints from different wards each day on non-supply and quality problems with drinking water supplied by the PHED. We are aware that the distance makes it difficult for the PHED to provide a regular supply,” she says. She vows to take the matter up with the district administration, the PHED, and the local member of the legislative assembly. “We plan to revive Maharani Sagar first and then move on to other tanks in the town,” she concludes. Bhanja and members of the Parishad argue that the town’s ponds, if properly managed, could solve the drinking water problem more easily. A centralised water management system comes with big problems: the water comes from a distance of 50 km; interrupted and low-voltage electricity supply mars its ability to reach all areas on a regular basis. The administration in slowly waking up, and plans are afoot to revive the town’s tanks. Until this happens, Balangir will remain a perfect example of a town that has a lot of water but faces scarcity due to lack of vision on the part of its planners. -- Ranjan K Panda (Ranjan K Panda is an Orissa-based researcher and writer) Infochange News & Features, November 2009
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