Potable water for locals in a village of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh is a far cry. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre brags of a digital India, Swachh Bharat and 100 per cent rural electrification, here is a reality check that the BJP government in Chhattisgarh has failed to provide basic clean drinking water to its people. A disturbing picture of locals trying to dig out water from near a drain in a village in Dantewada speaks of the everyday tribulations of the villagers.
The pictures posted by ANI show the acute shortage of water in this village in question. While talking to ANI, Collector Saurabh Kumar, who was unaware of the plight of the people, said, “We will look into the matter, if there is a shortage of hand pumps then we will install them.”
A village in Dantewada is deprived of water. Locals are compelled to dig out water from near a drain. Collector Saurabh Kumar says 'We will look into the matter, if there is a shortage of hand pumps then we will install them' #Chhattisgarh pic.twitter.com/BwdbH8Elci
— ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2018
One of the pictures shows a child trying to fill a vessel from a drain. This has compelled many on social media to question the government’s apathy towards the people of the village. Some of the reactions are:
https://twitter.com/AnyCommon_Man/status/998767715383787521
https://twitter.com/anoop7283/status/998784056685973505
https://twitter.com/MissBhesra/status/998771096987029504
According to Zee News, there were reports of adverse effects of ‘red water’ from hand-pumps in February in Chhattisgarh’s Balrampur. Many people complained of skin diseases, aches, muscular problems and skin outbursts.
“Nearly 63 million people in India do not have access to safe drinking water, and increased pollution of water-bodies and poor storage infrastructure over the years, has created a water deficit which may become unmanageable in the future. A WaterAid report in 2016 ranked India among the worst countries in the world for the number of people without safe water,” stated a report by Dailyo.