Water Crisis / Puri Village Women Protest Over Year‑Long Water Crisis

Puri, Sept 15: A severe drinking water crisis has gripped Kushupada village under Sadar block of Puri district, where nearly 1,000 residents have been deprived of piped water for over a year despite the existence of a water supply project.

Frustrated by administrative apathy, women from the village locked the project site and staged a protest on the road, demanding immediate restoration of supply. With no access to clean water, villagers have been forced to rely on contaminated pond water, leading to widespread illness.

Locals allege that despite repeated complaints to the sarpanch, PEO, engineers, BDO, and even the district collector, no action was taken, compelling them to resort to agitation.

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The water project, located on the banks of the Bhargavi river, has remained non‑functional for months. As a result, villagers have been consuming foul‑smelling pond water, often carrying it home in buckets.

Some boil or filter the water before use, but many have fallen sick. Reports suggest one person died of dysentery, while several others are suffering from skin diseases.

Residents say the crisis has worsened during the monsoon, when heavy rains filled ponds but did not ease their drinking water woes. Women complain that their daily struggle to fetch unsafe water has put their families at risk. “We are forced to drink poisoned water. Our children are falling ill,” one protester said.

Acknowledging the crisis, departmental engineers assured that water would be supplied through tankers as an interim measure. However, villagers insist that only a permanent solution — restoring the pipeline project — can end their suffering.

The situation in Kushupada highlights glaring gaps in rural water supply management and raises serious questions about accountability in Puri’s drinking water infrastructure.