Gariaband: There are more than 20 hand pumps in Gram Panchayat Aamora and Od, tribal settlements on top of the mountains in the district, but all of them produce red water i.e. iron-rich water. Therefore the water from these sources is never used for drinking. Jheria has been dug in the Panchayat headquarters and its 5 dependent villages. Villagers use water from this Jheria for drinking throughout the year.
Sarpanch of Od, Ramsingh Sori says that currently under Jal Jeevan Mission, tap connection has been installed in every house, work of water tank and pipeline is going on. Under this scheme, preparations are being made to provide water to every household by connecting the old iron-rich water source, but no one will be able to drink this water. The Sarpanch said that the administration is aware of the presence of iron in all the water sources of the village situated in the mountains, there have been repeated demands for setting up a removal plant, but no attention has been paid to this.
The Kamar family of Hathora Dih brings water from a deep jheria dug near the mountain, half a kilometer away from the village. Elderly Chitralekha Kamar is carrying drinking water from 3 feet deep Jheria.
Villager Bhagwan Yadav told that if water is kept in a steel vessel for more than three hours, the vessel turns red. Many pump pipes have rotted due to iron. Iron leaves its mark even in the black plastic tank. Soap does not dissolve after bathing, hair becomes sticky after washing hair. The water here is of no use. Same situation was reported about Aamora also. Where in a year two-thirds of the Gram Panchayat development item is spent on Jheria mining and repairs. As the heat increases, when natural sources dry up, more than half of the villagers stop taking regular bath and start saving water.
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