ROURKELA: With Gopabandhupali slum cluster in the Steel City continuing to face drinking water scarcity during summer, a dozen owners of deep bore wells are making a fast buck by selling water.
Sources said with temperature hovering between 41 and 42 degree Celsius, tube wells are failing to yield adequate clean water thus mounting the woes of the slum dwellers.
Gopabandhupali slum cluster, comprising around 36 medium and tiny urban hamlets including Tina Colony, Tingtangbasti, Sunarpatti, Mahavir Chowk Basti, Amarnathbasti, Trinath Colony, Jagannath Colony and Indiranagar continues to face acute drinking water scarcity with groundwater level dropping drastically due to over-exploitation.
Depending on depth and capacity of water pump, each bore well owner has 100 to 300 connections and each household is charged from `350 to `400 per month for daily supply of 10-15 minutes.
Those buying water are required to arrange flexible plastic pipes.
In fact, at least 10 other deep bore well owners are now out of business as their facilities have become defunct due to further drop in ground water.
Rita Devi, a 40-year-old woman of Budhimaa Sthan, says she works as a domestic help and her husband works as a coolie, adding that as both of them return in the evening and cannot wait for hours to collect water, they have no option but to buy water.
Former Councillor of the erstwhile Rourkela Municipality Pramila Das said about 10,000 population residing in interior slum pockets and Durgapur foothills are the worst suffers where water tankers could not reach and tube wells go defunct.
Incidentally, as a relief, three deep bore well projects of oil marketing companies with overhead tanks and pipelines are successfully supplying water to 600-700 households, while two other deep bore wells funded from MPLAD of Jual Oram are supplying water through stand-posts.
Public Health and Engineering Organisaiton (PHEO) sources said the ongoing piped-water distribution project connecting Nayabazaar and Gopabandhupali via Timber Colony on completion would resolve water crisis of Gopabandhupali slum cluster and adjacent Timber Colony.

ROURKELA: While the hot long days of summer are approaching fast, around 80,000 population in several Wards of Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) are yet to have piped water supply.
Incidentally, the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO) aims to fully cover RMC limits under piped water supply by mid of 2020.
RMC sources informed that of the total 3.20 lakh population within RMC limits, about 80,000 people are deprived of piped water supply.
Only 20 Wards have piped water supply.
If the ongoing projects are completed in time, it would bring relief to the population which depends on tube wells, open wells and tankers for drinking purpose and ponds for other needs.
PHEO sources informed that multiple AMRUT projects worth about Rs 76.25 crore have been taken up.
AMRUT projects include rehabilitation of damaged pipeline at Nala Road, laying of Rising Main Line from Panposh to Tisco Colony via Hanuman Vatika, water testing laboratory at Panposh, water treatment plant at Jhirpani and laying of distribution lines at Nayabazar to Madhusudanpali via Timber Colony and Nabakrushnanagar.
Executive Engineer of PHEO A Patel said work on the mega UIDSSMT project worth Rs 89 crore for strengthening of distribution infrastructure to uncovered areas would start in April.
Recently, work order has been issued for the AMRUT project worth Rs 36 crore for setting up treatment plant and distribution networks in Jhartarang panchayat along with DAV Chowk area to Koel Nagar.
The PHEO also has plans to cover some slums of the captive township of Rourkela Steel Plant with piped water supply at a cost of Rs 14 crore.