Atanu Mukherjee for HT, Gorgram (Potka), June 21

Gorgram gets a hand pump after years
'Consumption of dirty water is unsafe, for life clean water is nectar.' The caution lines can be seen written on the muddy walls of the hutments scattered along the dusty road, which led to Gorgram, an obscure rural hamlet in Potka. But sadly, it is this Godsend 'nectar', which the rural populace here had been deprived of for years.

Fortunately the crisis of potable water would be sorted out to some extent for the locals of Gorgram. Today a hand pump was formally handed over by Kudy Mahanty Chiren's Opportunities (KMCO), a trust formed in memory of Kudy Mahanty, daughter of Niroop & Rupa Mahanty. The bubbly kid who craved for sharing happiness with everyone, especially the deprived children of her age, passed away in Tisco fire tragedy in 1984.

The hand pump would serve the best need of the hundreds of children, as it has been installed in the campus of Adivasi Harijan Primary & High School.......Luckily enough the students can now get access to safe drinking water on the school premises itself. They would not have to drink unclean water from stray water sources during the summer, when scarcity of potable water is high.

......KMCO has so far installed 1500 hand pumps in remote Jharkhand & Orissa.....the trust has also launched it website www.kmcotrust.com today