Sonepur: Many villagers of Hanumanpali, barely 3km from sub-divisional headquarters of Birmaharajpur, on Tuesday hit the streets, protesting against acute water scarcity at the village.

Hanumanpali that houses around 2,000 villagers does not have any pond or other water sources. Therefore, water shortage at the village remains a perennial problem. A few tube wells installed there go dry in the summer.

The villagers, led by Champamal sarpanch Rebati Rout, walked up to the sub-collector's office to demand supply of potable water to their village.

As a symbolic protest, the women took part in the rally with empty pots on their head. The men held placards and chanted slogans, demanding water supply. The villagers handed over a memorandum, demanding potable water. Earlier on several occasions, they had drawn attention of the Birmaharajpur block development officer and local representatives, but in vain.

"The village doesn't have a pond or any other water sources barring a few tube wells, which go dry in the summer. At present, there are three tube wells at the village. But, the water from them is not suitable for drinking and cooking because of the high presence of iron contents and other minerals in the water," Rout said.

The sarpanch further said the villagers were forced to use the contaminated water. "We are compelled to drink what is pumped out of the tube wells. Situation will assume alarming proportion in the days to come. We demand potable water to be supplied to the village through tankers," she said.

Birmaharajpur sub-collector Gopinath Saraka said a drinking water project was coming up at Jharkumuda village for Rs 1.76 crore. "Funds have been sanctioned, and the tender process is also over. Works of the project will begin shortly. The project will put an end to the water shortage problem of many villages, including Hanumanpali, when it is completed," Saraka said.