Paradip, April 15: Pipelines in the port township and its peripheral localities have developed cracks, adding to the water woes of residents.
As the wastage of water continues unabated, domestic water tapes are going dry.
The supply of water from the port-run public health engineering department is erratic and fails to meet the residents' daily requirements. Moreover, the water reaching the households is muddy and unfit for human consumption.
Many localities have begun experiencing an acute drinking water shortage.
There is every likelihood that the situation would assume alarming proportion in the coming days as there is a steady rise in temperature.
The prevailing situation has been mainly due to fall in water level in the Taladanda canal.
"The shortage is temporary. Once the water level rises in the canal, situation would considerably improve. We have requested the Odisha water resources department to increase the flow of canal water to meet the water demand of localities adjacent to the port," said executive engineer of the department (environment and civil) Gangadhar Sethy.
There has been a drastic fall in the water level both in the canal and three reservoirs in the port town. As against three million gallon litres of daily requirement of drinking water, hardly two million gallon litres are being generated every day. This has triggered the shortage, he said.
The situation is worse in the slum clusters lying on the fringes of the town.
Badapadia, Nua bazaar, Nehru Bangala, Bangalipada, Sandhakuda, Lockpada do not have pipe water supply. With dip in the ground water level, the tube wells have gone dry. The water tankers pressed in by the municipal authorities are the sole drinking water source for over 75,000 slum dwellers.
To add to the woes, major cracks have appeared on the pipelines.
The ruptured pipelines has led to the formation of artificial streams drastically squeezing out water - that otherwise would have reached the households in the water-scarce areas in the town, said a port official.
