Traffic on the busy Kantilo-Fategarh road in Odisha's Nayagarh district was disrupted for over four hours on Tuesday as residents of Baunshabati village staged a road blockade on State Highway 48 to protest an acute shortage of drinking water in the area.
Villagers, including women and youths from various hamlets of Baunshabati panchayat under Bhapur block, placed stones and water buckets on the highway around 7 am, demanding immediate restoration of drinking water supply. They alleged that despite repeated complaints to local authorities, the issue remained unresolved for months.
“We have been running from pillar to post for drinking water. Water is available at Marada Chowk, but it is not reaching our village through pipelines. We are forced to fetch water from distant sources every day,” said Sudam Behera, a protesting villager.
The agitators claimed that assurances from public representatives and officials failed to translate into action. “We decided to block the road because nobody was listening to us. We will not tolerate empty promises anymore,” said Sabitri Nayak, another resident.
Local sarpanch Soumya Ranjan Sahu and Fategarh police station officer-in-charge Ajay Kumar Sahu reached the spot and tried to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade. However, the villagers insisted that the road would be cleared only after receiving a written assurance from the administration.
Bhapur BDO Sharda Prasanna Panda later arrived at the protest site and assured the villagers that drinking water would be supplied to the village within 15 days. “We have identified the problem and necessary steps will be taken to restore regular water supply at the earliest. The villagers have been assured that the issue will be resolved within 15 days,” Panda said.
Following the assurance, the protesters withdrew the blockade, restoring normal traffic on the highway.
