Sonbhadra

Residents of Sinduriya village in Uttar Pradesh’s Sonbhadra district staged a protest on Sunday alleging delays and irregularities in the Centre’s tap water scheme amid worsening drinking water scarcity.

A large number of villagers held a ‘jal satyagraha’ on the banks of the Son River, accusing officials of negligence and corruption.

Surendra Yadav, a villager, said the water crisis had intensified with the onset of summer, as handpumps and borewells have dried up, forcing residents to fetch water from distant locations.

The protesters alleged that although roads were dug and pipelines laid two to three years ago following surveys, household tap connections are yet to be installed. As a result, villagers are compelled to consume contaminated river water, they claimed.

Ajay Kumar Pathak, another resident, accused officials of submitting “misleading reports” to higher authorities despite the water supply remaining non-functional. He warned that villagers would march to Lucknow if their demands were not addressed soon.

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Responding to the allegations, Arun Singh, executive engineer with the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, said water connections had been provided in about 90 per cent of villages and that testing of some projects was underway. Normal water supply would begin shortly, he added.