Sehore (Madhya Pradesh): Jal Jeevan Mission, implemented since long in the state, has proved to be a failure in the Jamonia village in Sehore district, where the taps are running dry amid the sweltering heat. The village is located at a distance of three kilometres from Sehore district headquarters, where under the Jal Jeevan mission, a water tank and a water pipeline had been laid at a cost of Rs 80.36 lakh.
About 250 families reside in the village had opted for the connection under the mission, and the trial of the same had been conducted for three months. The residents of the village alleged that due to the negligence of the sarpanch, the mission is just on papers, and the water tank has been reduced to a showpiece.
Official sources said that the contractors deployed under the mission carried out poor quality work. The pipeline was supposed to be buried at a depth of three feet, which was buried under the sand. Consequently, due to the vehicles passing over the pipeline, it burst and resulted in leakage of water.
Even the handpumps have gone dry in the village, and the villagers are forced to go to a significant distance on foot to procure water for themselves. When the sarpanch’s representative was contacted, he said that the pipeline had burst due to the bridge construction underway in the area, and the department concerned has been written to, to redress the issue. SDO of PHE in Sehore RN Ahirwar told media that the contractor of the bridge construction work had broken the pipeline, and the panchayat should take action against him.
