Bonda girl digs up well to provide drinking water to 60 families

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The small village of Bandipada (near Khairput), which is located on Bonda hill does not have the proper road communication network that it needs. The villagers who are belonging to the Bonda tribe, have to cross literal nullahs and forests, in order reach the foothill if they wish to access healthcare, and use government benefits.

When a resident of the village Malati Sisa, came back to Bandipada from Bhubaneswar a month back after completing her MA in Economics from KIIT University, she faced a new problem – it was a lack of drinking water.

The lone tube-well in the village went invalid 4 months ago. The villagers’ attempts to draw attention of officials concerned had failed to yield appropriate results. In the end, the Bonda villagers had to depend on a nullah, located on the outskirts of Bandipada to bring water for drinking or cooking. A farmer’s daughter, 25-year-old Malati saw her mother and 3 younger sisters walk one kilometre every day, with other women of the village to fetch water from the stream.

With officials paid little to no heed, Malati took up matters into her own hands. She dug up a well on the premises of her thatched house for the benefit of all the 60 families of the village. With the help of her father and sisters, Sukri, Lily and Ranjita, she dug up land behind her house.

Although the family didn’t have many savings, Dhabulu gave Malati Rs. 7,000 to buy a motor pump and drain out the muddy water from the well. The family worked round-the-clock for 5 days to dig up the earth until they hit clean water earlier in the week.

Now, the whole village is drawing up water from this 14-ft deep and 4-ft wide well for meeting their needs of drinking water. Although the villagers appreciate Malati’s efforts, they said the local administration should have taken measures to address the recurrent problem of water scarcity in the village.

When Khairput BDO Hruda Ranjan Sahu came to know about the incident, he said efforts will be taken soon to renovate the defunct tubewell. Also, Malati’s family will be paid for their labour in digging the well under the MGNREGS, he added.

When the only tube-well in Bandipada, Malkangiri, went invalid, 25-yr-old Malati along with her father and 3 sisters dug up a 15-ft deep well, providing water in the village populated by the Bonda primitive tribals, says Deba Prasad Dash.

This was about Malati and how she so thoughtfully helped her own family, but so many more, and solved one of their most pressing issues they face. Comment down below your thoughts regarding her work towards the villages. Coming across such brilliant minds is like a breath of fresh air. If you enjoy such stories, do visit the space for more!