Guwahati’s piped water dream still elusive as projects move at uneven pace

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: For a fast-growing city like Guwahati, access to regular and safe piped drinking water should by now have been a basic civic guarantee. Instead, despite multiple water supply projects, repeated deadlines and fresh official assurances, a large section of the city continues to struggle with irregular, inadequate or non-existent water supply.

Over the past two decades, Guwahati has expanded rapidly in both population and area. However, the expansion of a comprehensive water supply network has failed to keep pace. For many residents, daily life still revolves around water tankers, private borewells or erratic supply through ageing pipelines. Several households that applied for piped connections years ago are still waiting, while others receive water only once every few days, often at low pressure and for a short duration.

The situation has once again come under scrutiny following the partial commissioning of the South West Guwahati Water Supply Project. Designed to serve around 4,500 household connections based on existing and anticipated applications, the project has achieved limited progress. Distribution Metered Areas (DMAs) have been established and reservoirs are operational in some pockets, but officials admit the project is only about 70 per cent complete. The partial rollout has raised hopes in some neighbourhoods while deepening frustration among those still left out of the supply network.

The South West project is part of a broader city-wide plan that includes four major water supply projects—South Central, South West, East and North Guwahati. Each project is funded by different agencies and implemented by different contractors, with separate timelines and execution strategies. While this fragmented model was intended to speed up development, it has instead led to uneven progress and coordination challenges.

Among the four, the South Central Guwahati Water Supply Project has shown the most tangible results. Officials say that of the 120 planned DMAs in this zone, nearly 100 have been completed. Around 60,000 household connections have already been provided, benefiting an estimated three lakh people, making it the most advanced project in terms of coverage.

However, even the South Central project is far from complete. Certain areas, particularly around Maligaon, have faced technical and logistical hurdles. Out of 53 DMAs planned for this stretch, only 10 have been commissioned so far, with the rest still under execution.

Residents under the South Central network have also complained about frequent disruptions. Mechanical failures at pumping stations, technical glitches and maintenance issues often lead to sudden supply shutdowns. In many localities, water supply timings remain unpredictable, forcing households to plan daily chores around uncertainty. While dependence on water tankers has reduced in some areas, the irregularity of piped supply continues to be a major concern.

Adding to the frustration is the fact that several densely populated areas within the South Central zone—such as Beltola, Bhetapara and Ghoramara—are still waiting for basic water connections. Residents in these localities have questioned why they remain excluded even as neighbouring areas receive treated piped water.

On the eastern front, progress appears even slower. According to Guwahati Jal Board sources, the tender for the East Guwahati Water Supply Project is currently at the evaluation stage. “We had a meeting recently and discussions are on,” an official said, indicating that while administrative processes are moving forward, actual execution may still take considerable time.

The East Guwahati project is widely regarded as the most delayed among the four. Unlike other zones, where at least pipelines or reservoirs are visible, East Guwahati has seen little work on the ground, leaving the project largely confined to paper.

With partial success in the South Central zone and limited progress in the South West and North zones, Guwahati’s overall water supply picture remains uneven. For many residents, the promise of reliable piped water continues to be more of an aspiration than a reality, underscoring the urgent need for better coordination, faster execution and clearer accountability across all four projects.

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