Balangir: Residents are going to face a harsh summer this year as the temperature since the past week has been around 38 degrees Celsius. Apart from the scorching heat, the water crisis due to inadequate water supply in the pipelines have added to their woes.

A source said at present, Balangir residents get water only once or twice in a week through the pipelines. The department of public health said the supply was erratic due to improper laying of pipes at various parts of the town.

The residents get water supply through pipes from the Mahanadi river near Sonepur about 55km from here. On Friday, residents of Barpalipada led by district convener of Aam Admi Party Ajaya Das staged protest at the public health and engineering department (PHED) division office alleging that the area was reeling under acute water crisis and the concern department was not doing anything despite repeated appeals.

A source said the town has a demand of 15.76 million litres of water per day, but the PHED is only capable of providing 8 million litres and that too if the pump works for 18 hours a day. Officially, the town has 4,980 legal water connections, while there are an equal number of illegal connections as well.

Besides, there are 294 stand posts, which is the only source of water for a large number of people. Water is supplied to Balangir through a 55-km pipeline from Nandanmal in Sonepur district, which passes through five-stages. The places where water is pumped are Nandanmal, Sibtola, Kesharkela, Madhiapali and the overhead tanks in the town. The water supply gets disrupted if there is technical problem or power failure even at one of these places.

Sukanta Tarai of Rajivnagar said the locality has been facing the crisis for quite some time now. "Due to widening of roads, the water tanks installed in the locality by PHED has been demolished. As a result potable water supply has been badly hit. Many are water pouches for drinking," he said.

Executive engineer of Balangir PHED division Ratnakar Jena said the problem was caused due to the ongoing pipeline laying work at different parts of the town. "At present, the department is taking up pipe laying work at many places. We will complete the works soon. After that the water supply will be normal," Jena said.