Kendrapara: The outbreak of water-borne diseases looms large as people in various parts of this coastal district are reeling from severe drinking water shortage.

Though summer is yet to set in, drinking water shortage has already affected rural life badly.

The situation has gone from bad to worse in several thickly populated hamlets in Mahakalpada block with the villagers being forced to draw water from polluted ponds to quench thirst.

The deep-dug tube wells by the government have turned idle with its water sources either getting salinised or the sources getting dried up altogether.

"With the rise in mercury, shallow tube wells have gone dry one by one. The dysfunctional state of deep-dug tube wells, the sources of safe drinking water, is apparently adding to the people's woes. The scenario is gloomy with water-borne diseases already rearing its head in several areas," said former sarpanch of Ramnagar gram panchayat Bijoy Shukla.

More than 50 people have been affected by viral gastritis in Mahakalpada and Marshaghai areas in the past one week. Of the 1,600 villages in the district, around 30 villages in the region are facing water scarcity. Over 300 other hamlets have turned water-deficient, as the tube wells are defunct.

The villages such as Barakanda, Mangalpur, Keyarbanka are the worst hit following the dipping of ground water table.

"Salinity is a major problem at these seaside villages resulting in salinated water from deep wells. There are some villages where tube wells have gone dry. The dysfunctional tube wells are reactivated in water-scarce villages. To meet with the situation, the department has pressed into service water tankers at the water-scarce villages," said the Rural Water Sanitation Scheme's assistant engineer Prasant Nayak.