A 1,200-foot-deep tubewell supplying purified drinking water has been commissioned at Shyamnagar Ma Sarada Vidyamandir in Kultali, South 24 Parganas, to address a longstanding shortage in a village near the Sundarbans’ tidal creeks. The project was initiated by voluntary organisation Bihan—The New Beginning and funded by Birla Corporation Limited under its corporate social responsibility programme.
According to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Bengal, the tubewell began operating on the day of Mahalaya. Residents in the coastal area have faced difficulty accessing drinking water for years, with the report stating that some families were at times forced to consume saline water. The new facility is expected to provide drinking water to students at the school as well as several families in the surrounding area.
The location of the project is significant because the school is situated close to the creeks of the Sundarbans, where access to safe freshwater has been identified in the report as a persistent local problem. The school’s head teacher, Kamalkrishna Mandal, said the institution serves a disadvantaged village and does not receive government assistance. He said the water shortage had been severe and that the new tubewell would benefit students and local households.
The project places a privately funded water facility at the centre of a basic public service need. While the initiative is not described as a government water-supply scheme, its stated purpose is to improve access to safe drinking water for both the school community and nearby residents. The report does not provide details on the number of households expected to use the tubewell, the daily volume of water available, or whether the water will be tested and monitored regularly.
Soumen Das, secretary of Bihan—The New Beginning, said the organisation intended the initiative to support public health and improve access to safe drinking water. Arnab Saha, another member of the organisation, said the Kultali project formed part of its continuing social-service work. The organisation has previously conducted children’s competitions and clothing-distribution programmes in the area, according to the report, and has also worked on infrastructure improvements at schools in South 24 Parganas and Purulia.
The commissioning of the tubewell was accompanied by a clothing-distribution programme ahead of the festive season. More than 200 women from the village received new saris at the event. Local residents reportedly welcomed the combination of drinking-water access and clothing support before the festival period.
The immediate next step will be the continued operation of the tubewell for the school and nearby families. The available report does not specify the arrangements for maintenance, water-quality testing, opening hours or responsibility for managing access. Those details will determine how consistently the new facility can serve the community beyond its inauguration.
