BERHAMPUR:  The claims of the Central and State Governments notwithstanding, safe drinking water remains a distant dream for many in Ganjam district. A case in point is Ekagharia village under Jagannathprasad block. In the last three years, nine persons of the village have died due to renal failure caused by consumption of contaminated water. Six others of the village are suffering from renal disorders.

Ekagharia village comes under Alasu gram panchayat and is inhabited by around 34 families, mostly tribals. Although the village has four tubewells, their muddy water is unfit for human consumption. Yet, villagers consume the water in absence of any alternative source. As a result, many of them fall victim to renal disorders.

Alasu Sarpanch Sangita Mohapatra had earlier informed the health officials of the Jagannathprasad Community Health Centre, who had apprised Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO) Mrutyunjaya Mishra. Subsequently, a team of doctors led by Medical Officer Suresh Chandra Samant visited the village and collected water samples from the tubewells. The samples have been sent to the Regional Research Laboratory at Bhubaneswar for test.

Besides, a complaint regarding the water quality from the tubewells was lodged with the Water Supply Department by the Sarpanch after which, three tubewells were sealed. Currently, all the families depend on the one tubewell for their water requirement. But, muddy water comes out of this tubewell also. Some villagers are now collecting water from an open well, on the outskirts of the village, that has not been disinfected since ages.

Samant informed that reports of the water samples have been received and the water is unfit for consumption. “We have decided to examine the bacterial content of the water,” he said.

People of another village in the district have been facing kidney problems as well. In April this year, similar reports were received from Badaputi village.

Apparently, 20 villagers of Badaputi had succumbed to renal failure in the last four years.

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