Bihar Drinking Water Crisis: Serious questions are now being raised about the pace of development in Bihar and the government’s lofty claims. Many of the major development projects in the state, for which grand preparations were underway for inauguration, remain incomplete. These projects, costing over ₹47,000 crore, remain unfinished even after the deadline has passed. While files worth billions of rupees are stuck in government offices, the common people on the ground are yearning for basic necessities. In many districts of the state, the drinking water crisis has become so severe that life has become difficult for the people. Particularly in districts like Vaishali, Banka, and Darbhanga, the government’s ambitious tap water scheme appears to be completely failing.
Crores of schemes remain incomplete and people are troubled.
The slow pace of development in Bihar can be gauged from the fact that major public welfare projects are not being completed on time. The Tap Water Scheme was launched with the aim of providing clean water to every household, but due to lack of supervision and technical deficiencies, the scheme is failing to quench people’s thirst. From Vaishali to Banka and Darbhanga, tap water schemes have been installed in rural areas, but water is missing from the taps. In this scorching heat, groundwater levels are continuously falling, causing even traditional hand pumps to stop providing water. As a result, rural residents are forced to carry water from distant areas.
People are craving for water drop by drop in Banka.
The situation in Modhiya Pachrukhi village, located in the Shambhuganj block area of Banka district, remains extremely worrying. Due to the groundwater level plummeting, most of the government and private hand pumps have completely dried up. Furthermore, the borewell installed under the tap water scheme has been out of order for quite some time. Fed up with the water shortage, more than two dozen villagers reached the Shambhuganj block headquarters and surrounded the PHED department office. The villagers told officials that they had no source of drinking water in the scorching heat. Subodh Kumar, the department’s junior engineer, assured the villagers that the borewell’s malfunction would be repaired soon and water supply restored.
There has been a queue in Darbhanga since 3 am.
A similar tragic picture of drinking water is emerging from the Darbhanga block area. The water crisis has become severe in half a dozen panchayats of Darbhanga. Ward No. 11 of Ughra Panchayat is the worst. Currently, only one private hand pump is in working order in the entire ward. Hundreds of families are dependent on this single source of water. Local residents say that people have to stand in line with buckets from 3 am to get water. Even after waiting in line all night, people receive only two or three buckets of water. Due to this water crisis, children are unable to even bathe before going to school. Often, disputes and arguments break out among villagers over water.
Women and children are worst affected
Women, children, and the elderly are bearing the brunt of this severe drinking water shortage. Household women spend half their days arranging water. This is also having a devastating impact on children’s education and the health of the elderly. Residents of Ughra Panchayat say that the tap water scheme’s motor has been burned out for several days, but the department has taken no concrete steps to repair it. Contrary to government claims, the tap pipelines are dry and hand pumps have failed.
Demand for immediate action from the administration and the department
The villagers, distressed by the drinking water problem, have now appealed to the local administration and the PHED department to resume water supply through tankers on a war footing. They have also demanded the installation of new hand pumps and hand pumps in the village. Ward representatives say that despite numerous applications to the department, no action has been taken. The villagers have warned that if this serious problem is not resolved in a timely manner, the risk of disease spreading during the summer season will increase. Regarding this matter, the block administration has stated that strict instructions have been issued to the PHED department to immediately restore water supply and repair the damaged borewells.
Water supply has been stalled in the Mahadalit colony of Sheikhpura for two months.
The water supply in Eksari village, located in Ward No. 33 of the Sheikhpura Municipal Council area, has been cut off for the past two months. This has sparked widespread anger among the villagers. Poor and working-class families from the Mahadalit community are struggling to find water. Villagers allege that the village has three water supply schemes and a water tower, but in the past three years, no water has been pumped into the tank. Now, the tank itself has disappeared from the tower.
Villagers’ anger grows due to administrative negligence
In Eksari village, two of the three borewells are completely out of order. This leaves approximately 75 percent of the population without access to drinking water. The situation is also dire in Yadav Tola, Kurmi Tola, and Manjhi Tola. Despite repeated complaints, the Municipal Council or the Ward Councillor have paid no attention. Distressed villagers have now appealed to the District Magistrate to intervene directly and improve the situation.