Paradip, April 21: A 62-year-old man was killed and three others injured in a clash between two groups over drawing of water from a community tube well at Baro village in Nikirai police station limits yesterday evening.

The village had two deep tube wells and one had become defunct.

As the residents were dependant on one tube well, disputes over drawing water had become commonplace. However, yesterday evening the bickering turned violent and villager Pitambar Barik, 62, was grievously injured in it. He was taken to the district headquarters hospital, where he died later. Three others have been injured in the incident, said inspector of Nikirai police station Pradumnya Kumar Nayak.

Search is on to nab the culprits, Nayak said.

Drinking water has become scarce in major parts of the coastal districts.

Drop in groundwater table has triggered acute crisis mostly in seaside villages of Erasama, Balikuda, Kujang, Mahakalpada and Rajnagar blocks.

"We have received reports of disputes arising in water-scarce villages. The block level officials have been asked to conduct inquiry into water-related disputes. Work is on to install new deep tube wells in water-deficient areas. Steps are also being taken to reactivate the dysfunctional tube wells. Besides, new tube wells would be dug out in water-deficient areas within a week," said Jagatsinghpur collector Satya Kumar Mallik.

The demand and requirement of water are exceedingly high, while its availability is scanty and scarce. Thus confrontation over water-related issues is predictable, said rights activist Biraja Pati.

Take the instance of Mahakalpada tehsil. The salinity level in groundwater sources of these areas is on a steady upswing in these seaside pockets. Of the 1,200 deep tube wells that had been installed, more than half have turned dysfunctional. To aggravate things further, iron contents in water make the rest of the well unfit for human intake, he said.

With sources getting thinned, water row is slowly becoming the order of the day. There are not less than 40-50 tube wells in these areas to which all sections of the people do not have free access. Lower caste groups never draw water from these wells because of undeclared prohibition.

Complaints usually do pour in during the summer months. Last year, 27 FIRs were lodged in nine police stations of both the district. Apart from the shortage of drinking water, agriculture fields lying at the tail-end of irrigation canals are also going dry, sources said.