Water harvesting structure dries up

SONEPUR: This is only the beginning of summer and  water bodies here have already started drying up.While the situation is better in urban areas where civic bodies are managing to supply drinking water to some extent, many tube-wells in rural areas have gone defunct due to groundwater depletion. The Narayan Kanta, a traditional water harvesting structure in Narayanpur village under Sonepur block, catered to the needs of 30,000 people of the village spread over seven wards besides providing water for irrigation.Spread over 65 acres, neglect of the traditional water harvesting structure has left it with little water. There is another water harvesting structure nearby, Nuabandh, but that too is lying neglected sans maintenance. And with these water bodies drying up, there has been a depletion of groundwater and only two out of 11 tube-wells provide clean water. Even though the village has pipe water supply of the RWSS, the water supplied is too meagre and pipes are damaged at many places. There is only a little water left in the Narayan Kanta as on today due to siltation.Villagers said a few years back, even in summer Narayan Kanta had 15 feet of water, but today the structure has just three feet water which is a cause of concern for them.And with no other source, the villagers are forced to consume water from polluted water bodies. They have urged the administration to renovate the water harvesting structure before the monsoon.