Sambalpur: This is not caste politics but corona politics. The family members of COVID-19 patients are not being allowed to draw water from the tubewell near their house in Rangamatia village near Redhakhol in Sambalpur district.
Sushma Nag and Jatna Khadia, two elderly women of the village have to go walk two km every day to collect water from a nullah for drinking purposes and for use in household chores. They have to dig ‘Chua’ in the sand near the nullah to collect some drinking water. They have to dig ‘Chua’ in the sand near the nullah to collect some drinking water.
Their only crime – three members of their family tested COVID positive a few days back. Villagers felt this was reason enough to prohibit them from using the village tubewell.
They have to dig a ‘Chua’ (a pit) in the sand near the nullah to collect drinking water.
“The villagers are not allowing us to touch the tubewell. They fear that the infection will spread. We can carry one pot of water at a time, which is not sufficient. We cannot walk two km twice every day to fetch water. We have been facing this problem for a fortnight. If they are not allowing us to use the tubewell, the villagers should arrange water for us,” said the family member of a Corona patient.
They have asked the district administration to help them out.
Meanwhile, the villagers argue that they have only two tubewells in the village. Reddish water is coming out from one of them, which cannot be used for drinking. So, the entire village is depending on one tubewell. Under the circumstances, they did not think it fit to allow family members of COVID-positive patients to touch that tubewell.
