Bapuji Nagar water solution in pipeline

BHUBANESWAR: For residents of Bapuji Nagar here, the scorching summer is synonymous with drinking water scarcity. A proposal to ensure regular water supply by laying a supply channel from Naraj to the locality is gathering dust, official sources said.
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation attributed the delay in implementing the proposal to unsystematic growth of commercial centres and houses in the locality, which made it difficult to dig the earth and lay the pipes.
"The sewerage and drainage channels have to be renovated and encroachments demolished before going ahead with the plan. The sewer lines have become defunct at many places. Laying pipes along the sewer lines may lead to contamination of water," said corporator (ward 53) Mahamaya Swain.
She said residents depend on tubewells and a few water connections earlier provided by Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED). "These can satiate thirst of only 5,000 people, while population of the locality has increased to 30,000 in last few years. It was 25,000 in 2008.
City mayor A N Jena said, "We have written to the PHED to conduct a survey and identify routes for laying pipes in the area."