Residents 'dissatisfied' with trial run of water supply project in Guwahati

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Residents of many areas of Guwahati have expressed dissatisfaction over the trial run of the South Central Guwahati Water Supply Project funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The trial run of the Central Guwahati Water Supply Project was started in July this year by the Guwahati Jal Board in areas like Amiya Nagar, Ambikagiri Nagar, Rajgarh, Chandmari, Milanpur, Pub-Sarania, Mother Teresa Road, Bhaskar Nagar, Geetanagar, Anil Nagar, Nabin Nagar, Tarun Nagar, Christian Basti, Shreenagar, RG Baruah Road and Walford. In the trail run, water pipelines were laid to supply water to many households.

Many residents have, however, expressed dissatisfaction over this trial run. Chandan Barua, a resident of Pub-Sarania, said, "The quality of the water supplied is poor. Moreover, we get water for only 1-2 hours in a day. Sometimes there is no water supply for 2-3 days."

He further said, "To lay the water pipelines, roads were dug up. But the roads were never filled up or repaired. As a result, potholes have developed in some areas. The pipelines are also of poor quality and there have been leakages in many places. We had been informed that there would be leakages during the trial run. But if there are leakages in the trial run itself, how can we expect undisrupted water supply when the project is finally launched?"

Another resident of the same area, Mrinalini Devi said that the water supplied was high in iron content. "It is not possible to wash clothes with this water as there is high level of iron. How can this water be used for drinking purpose later? Water crisis is a major problem in the city. The authorities concerned have failed to provide the minimum daily requirement of water to the residents. Pipelines have not been laid in many areas which are supposed to be covered under the South Central Guwahati Water Supply Project. Simply launching a water supply project is not enough. The ward members and local MLA must visit to inspect the quality of water and ensure proper implementation of the project."

The South Central Guwahati Water Supply Project is expected to supply water to around 3,000 households in the trial run.

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