Deep in Balod district’s wilderness, Kamkapar village tells a tale of bureaucratic inertia. The Jal Jeevan Mission, launched to pipe pure drinking water to every rural doorstep by 2024, hit a wall here. Tanks built, pipes laid, household connections complete – yet for 24 months, silence from the faucets.
This 3,500-strong community, including satellite villages Tekapar and Kurubhat, battles acute scarcity. A single solar-powered pump is their lifeline, rationing water amid frequent breakdowns. When it quits, handpumps yield dust, and families scramble for alternatives.
Villagers accuse authorities of neglect. ‘Tanks gleam unused, pipelines idle, taps mocking us,’ laments Manju Vishwakarma. Mahar Singh Deshmukh adds, ‘No tests run, no water released – it’s all on paper.’ Initial excitement from the project has soured into skepticism.
The crisis peaked at a recent jan samasya nivanran shivir, where Collector Divya Umesh Mishra intervened. Instructing PHE officials to expedite supply, she vowed quick fixes. But with dry summers ahead, trust is thin.
Kamkapar’s ordeal spotlights systemic flaws in flagship schemes. Infrastructure exists, but activation lags. As residents queue at the faltering solar pump, the question hangs: How long before ‘every home, every tap’ becomes more than a slogan?