'No water supply': Toilets in less than 30% Odisha rural houses, mostly 'not in use'

By A Representative
Various areas of Kandhamal district in Odisha are experiencing acute water shortage and infrastructure woes adding to the problems of the people, reveals a recent study on Water availability and sources” conducted by non-profit Atmashakti Trust and its allies Odisha Shramajeebee Mancha , Mahila Shramajeebee Mancha, Odisha and Jeebika Suraksha Mancha, Kandhamal.
Conducted online that covered 304 villages under 15 Gram Panchayats of Kotagada block of Kandhamal, the survey result found that erratic and inadequate water supply has made life difficult for the people living on hilly and remote areas of the district and recommends immediate repair of water structure/infrastructure to meet water needs of these communities.
Odisha has set a target to cover all rural households to have access to safe and adequate drinking water at their doorsteps by 2024. A whopping Rs 50,000 crore is projected to be spent under different schemes and projects to ensure the same. However, the survey results from Kotagada block urges immediate and time bound implementation of government schemes to ensure access to safe water for all.

Survey findings

In 304 surveyed villages, there are 604 tube-wells, out of which 215 (35.6%) tube-wells are not in usable condition due to defunct structures, iron contaminated water & water scarcity. It is contrary to the official data of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) department which claims that all tube-wells are functioning properly.
The study report says that out of 604 tube wells, only 49 (8%) tube wells have Proper sock pits and 272 (45%) tube wells have no platform.
Out of 304 villages, only 54 (17.76%)villages have a solar tank from which 22 (40.7%) are running and remaining are 32(59.3%) in defunct conditions due to problems in the motor pump, groundwater level & damage of the stand-post.
As many as 174 (57.2%) villages depended on dug-wells but in summer due to the depletion of groundwater level the villagers are facing problems and in other 109 (35.85) villages due to muddy water during the rainy season the villagers are enduring for drinking water.
Only 85 (28%) villages have a drainage system in their villages, from the total 22 (25.88%) villages' drainage structures are defunct and 28 (33%) villages' drainage structures are partially damaged and not functioning well.

In all, 226 (74.3%) villages are getting contaminated water like Muddy and Iron water which is not drinkable. As a fall out of this, water-borne diseases among communities such as Diarrhea is a common case in these communities. Secondly, communities often rely on the rain water but it may carry varying contaminants from the surfaces on which it lands. In fact, rainwater can carry bacteria, parasites, viruses, and chemicals that make humans sick.
“Access to safe and clean water is a basic necessity to meet water needs and has a correlative impact to combat malnutrition. The government has a provision of installing a bore-well for every 200 to 250 populations but in tribal areas, people live scattered. So, even if bore wells are available, they can hardly access water due to distance”, said Nityananda Thanapati, Programme Manager of Atmashakti Trust.
“Since we have been working to combat malnutrition in Kotagada since 2018, we believe that it cannot be combated until the lack of access to safe water is addressed” , he added.
Kotagada block has over 18,000 households with a population of nearly 60,000. The study which covered all households in the block revealed that only 5,008 (28%) households have constructed toilets in their houses, out of which only 1,536 (31%) of them are using toilets. The findings reveal that the major reason for not using toilets by communities is mainly due to the lack of available water and damaged toilet structures.

Comments

The golden crop: How turmeric is transforming women's lives in tribal India

By Vikas Meshram* When the lush green fields of turmeric sway in the tribal belt of southern Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, it is not merely a spice crop — it is the golden glow of self-reliance. In villages where even basic spices once had to be bought from the market, the very soil today is yielding a prosperity that has transformed the lives of thousands of families. At the heart of this transformation is the initiative of Vaagdhara, which has linked turmeric with livelihoods, nutrition, and village self-governance — gram swaraj.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Love letters in a lifelong war: Babusha Kohli’s resistance in verse

By Ravi Ranjan* “War does not determine who is right—only who is left.” Bertrand Russell’s words echo hauntingly in our times, and few contemporary Hindi poets embody this truth as profoundly as Babusha Kohli. Emerging from Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Kohli has carved a unique space in literature by weaving together tenderness, protest, and philosophy across poetry, prose, and cinema. Her work is not merely artistic expression—it is resistance, refuge, and a call for peace.

Authoritarian destruction of the public sphere in Ecuador: Trumpism in action?

By Pilar Troya Fernández The situation in Ecuador under Daniel Noboa's government is one of authoritarianism advancing on several fronts simultaneously to consolidate neoliberalism and total submission to the US international agenda. These are not isolated measures, but rather a coordinated strategy that combines job insecurity, the dismantling of the welfare state, unrestricted access to mining, the continuation of oil exploitation without environmental considerations, the centralization of power through the financial suffocation of local governments, and the systematic criminalization of all forms of opposition and popular organization.

Echoes of Vietnam and Chile: The devastating cost of the I-A Axis in Iran

By Ram Puniyani The recent joint military actions by Israel and the United States against Iran have been devastating. Like all wars, this conflict is brutal to its core, leaving a trail of human suffering in its wake. The stated pretext for this aggression—the brutality of the Ayatollah Khamenei regime and its nuclear ambitions—clashes sharply with the reality of the diplomatic landscape. Iran had expressed a willingness to remain at the negotiating table, signaling a readiness to concede points emerging from dialogue.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

False claim? What Venezuela is witnessing is not surrender but a tactical retreat

By Manolo De Los Santos The early morning hours of January 3, 2026, marked an inflection point in Venezuela and Latin America’s centuries-long struggle for self-determination and independence. Operation Absolute Resolve, ordered by the Trump administration, constituted the most brutal and direct military assault on a sovereign state in the region in recent memory. In a shocking operation that left hundreds dead, President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores were illegally kidnapped from Venezuelan soil and transported to the United States, where they now face fabricated charges in a New York federal detention facility. In the two months since this act of war, a torrent of speculation has emerged from so-called experts and pundits across the political spectrum. This has followed three main lines: One . The operation’s success indicated treason at the highest levels of the Bolivarian Revolution. Two . Acting President Delcy Rodríguez and the remaining leadership have abandone...

The selective memory of a violent city: Uttam Nagar and the invisible victims of Delhi

By Sunil Kumar* Hundreds of murders take place in Delhi every year, yet only a few incidents become topics of nationwide discussion. The question is: why does this happen? Today, the incident in Uttam Nagar has become the centre of national debate. A 26-year-old man, Tarun Kumar, was killed following a dispute that reportedly began after a balloon hit a small child. In several colonies of Delhi, slogans such as “Jai Shri Ram” and “Vande Mataram” are being raised while demanding the death penalty for Tarun’s killers. As a result, nearly 50,000 residents of Hastsal JJ Colony are now living in what resembles a state of confinement.

The price of silence: Why Modi won’t follow Shastri, appeal for sacrifice

By Arundhati Dhuru, Sandeep Pandey* In 1965, as India grappled with war and a crippling food crisis, Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri faced a United States that used wheat shipments under the PL-480 agreement as a lever to dictate Indian foreign policy. Shastri’s response remains legendary: he appealed to the nation to skip one meal a day. Millions of middle-class households complied, choosing temporary hunger over the sacrifice of national dignity. Today, India faces a modern equivalent in the energy sector, yet the leadership’s response stands in stark contrast to that era of self-reliance.

Search This Blog