March 1, 2023
By Sudipta Satpati, Sakiruddin Sk., Fatik Kumar Hembrum, residents of Karru village, Purulia, W.B.
Karru Sabar Tola is a small hamlet in Purulia district, where reside 12 households hosting 70 people of the Kheria Sabar community. Karru village falls under Kuchia Gram Panchayat of Bandwan block and is situated at the top of a small hill. Sabar Tola comprises three more hamlets, inhabited by the Santal, Munda and Tantura communities respectively. These hamlets lack access to many government schemes and infrastructure because of its low population. A serious consequence was that all other hamlets acquired government tube wells for drinking water supply. As a result they did not have access to safe drinking water and had to depend on delivery of drinking water by a tanker through the local administration. Their closest water source was a spring that fed the local pond. The spring water was not fit for drinking as it mixed completely with the pond which was used for a variety of uses like bathing, washing clothes and utensils, bathing and providing water to livestock.
Paschim Banga Kheria Sabar Kalyan Samity (PBKSKS), a community-based organisation which has been working for the Kheria Sabar community in the region since the 1960s, conducted a village-level meeting on the drinking water issue with the Block Development Officer (BDO) of Bandwan block. Following this, the Bandwan BDO allotted a tube well for Karru Sabar Tola but no drinking water found despite deep boring being carried out in three sites. After this, despite regular follow-up and requests to Government functionaries no action was taken by the local administration to address the water crisis in Karru Sabar Tola.
The villagers of Karru, PBKSKS and Keystone Foundation’s Networks and Alliances team came together to explore possible solutions. A series of meetings, community consultations and a site visit by engineer Anil Kumar Dubey, led to the decision that the spring that supplied water to the pond would be used to supply drinking water to the hamlet, employing a solar-powered water supply system. In order to segregate and secure the drinking water, a well was constructed around the spring and a submersible pump was set up in the well which has an average water level of 4.5 feet, with water being supplied from below by the spring. Three 335W Solar panels were set up to run the pump and supply water to a 2,000-litre capacity tank set up in the hamlet. Around 200 metres of pipes were laid to connect the well to the tank and two taps were set up to access the tank water. The work for the establishment of the water supply system was completed on February 28, 2023!
Fifty-two villagers from Karru Sabar Tola enthusiastically came forward to donate their time and labour to carrying out the different tasks required to establish the system, including digging trenches for laying the pipes, and digging and constructing the well. These tasks involved five days of intensive labour work. The villagers of the hamlet now get sufficient drinking water for their daily needs and the extra water is being used for household water requirements and growing vegetables in their kitchen gardens.
The villagers are very happy they have finally resolved the longstanding drinking water crisis facing their hamlet. They are also proud that they have done the hard work to solve the problem and they no longer need to depend on the government for a daily water tanker to supply drinking water to them. A village committee has been formed, which is responsible for protecting and safeguarding the solar drinking water supply system. Committee member Mangal Sabar said that this is an essential asset for their village, so we have to collectively protect and safeguard it.
