Residents of Sarada Bhavan Sahi put up a roadblock in protest against inadequate supply of drinking water in Berhampur. Picture by Gopal Krishna Reddy

Berhampur, April 4: Members of about 100 families at Sarada Bhavan Sahi put up a roadblock for few hours protesting against inadequate supply of drinking water.

The residents have threatened to boycott the upcoming polls if their demands are not met.

“We have been deprived of drinking water since Phailin hit Berhampur on October 12 last year,” said Sarada Bhavan Sahi resident Bala Krushna Sahu. The roadblock was lifted after local councillor and BJD leader Surendra Maharana assured the residents to restore water supply to the area within 48 hours.

“We have decided to boycott the election and resort to rasta roko if the councillor fails to fulfil his commitment,” said Sahu. They raised slogans, including “pani nahin, vote nahin” (no water, no vote). The agitators also burnt the BJD flag on the spot.

Like Sahu, many other settlers, including women, kept empty pots and buckets on the road and raised slogans, demanding water supply to their houses.

Every day, the public health engineering department is providing one water tanker instead of pipe water — which is insufficient, he said.

“We are facing much difficulty, as there is no particular timing of the arrival of the tanker,” said another resident.

Maharana, who discussed the issue with the public health engineering department executive engineer, said: “Water supply to Sarada Bhavan Sahi will be restored after laying of a six-inch pipeline. The executive engineer has agreed to do the work.”

He admitted that people residing in areas, including Kamapalli, Khala Sahi, Nayak Sahi and Sarada Bhavan Sahi, were deprived of drinking water since Phailin.

“As collectors well of the Rushikulya Water Supply Project is not generating sufficient water, the amount of the supplied water has reduced,” said the councillor.

Incidentally, former mayor and BJP candidate Siba Shankar Das, who had come to the area for campaigning, appealed to the local residents to vote for the BJP to solve the problem. He had to face the ire of the local residents as they asked him why he remained silent when he had been the mayor.