Jhansi: A newly constructed overhead water tank under the Jal Jeevan Mission in village Nagardang, under Jaitpur block of Mahoba district in the Bundelkhand region, developed major cracks, causing huge water leakage. Villagers levelled serious charges of misappropriation of funds during the construction of the tank and now fear the threat of an accident if the tank crumples due to the poor quality of construction.According to locals, the tank was constructed in 2025 under the Jal Jeevan Mission and laid idle since then. Recently, after a verbal spat between Jal Shakti minister Swatantra Dev Singh and Charkhari MLA Brjbhushan Rajput over deteriorating water supply and poor road conditions, the work gained momentum again in recent days.On Friday, the tank was filled with water for testing. Just a day later, there was massive leakage from the tank, while water was seen receding from various parts of the tank wall. A video of the incident also went viral, while the Gram Pradhan lodged a complaint, causing major embarrassment for the local administration. As the matter came to light, the repair work began at the site. ADM Namami Gange Moin Islam said that, taking the matter seriously, DM Mahoba Ghazal Bharadwaj constituted a three-member committee, including himself along with the executive engineer, PWD, and executive engineer, Maudaha Dam, to investigate the matter and file a report within seven days.Meanwhile, MLA Brijbhushan Rajput, under whose constituency the leakage took place, reiterated his claims of gross negligence and huge corruption in the construction, while demanding strict action against the culprits. “The leakage in the water tank is a live demonstration of the amount of corruption, and it is high time action is taken against those responsible for such acts,” Rajput said.On the other hand, SP supremo Akhilesh Yadav tweeted (X) about the matter, levelling serious allegations of corruption, and questioned whether the bulldozer would take action. “Yeh jal mission nahi, commission mission hai” (this is not Jal Mission but commission mission), he tweeted.
