Hudhud aftermath: Koraput tribals face drinking water shortage

Koraput: Tribals in remote areas of Koraput district are facing acute shortage of safe drinking water as several water supply stations are lying idle without power after cyclone Hudhud hit the district. According to officials at Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS), the district has at least 348 piped water supply stations and after Hudhud hit Koraput, 30 of them are not functioning. [caption id=“attachment_1762571” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] “Once power supply is restored, there will be no problem in supplying water to the villages,” said Executive Engineer of RWSS (Koraput), Manoranjan Mali. People said the department should supply water through tankers till normalcy was restored. Officials said eight tankers and 16 mobile vans with water-tank had been engaged to supply water to villagers. “Due to remoteness and lack of road communication to some areas, water tankers fail to reach there. Roadside villages are being supplied with tanker water,” Mali said. “As most of the villages have tubewells, we have urged the villagers to use them till water supply is restored,” he said. PTI