Pul lays roadmap to quench people's thirst by next fiscal

FROM OUR CORRESPONDENT

Itagar, March 29: Aruchal Pradesh Chief Minister Kalikho Pul on Monday asserted to provide water supply connections to all schools, hospitals and anganwadi centres in the state within the next fincial year.

The chief minister’s assertion came during a review meeting convened here which was attended by PHE & WS Minister Lombo Tayeng, Parliamentary Secretary Alo Libang, PHED Commissioner H K Shalla, PHED Western Zone chief engineer Tomo Basar and chief engineer (Sanitation) Toko Jyoti, reports CMMC.

Stressing on 24x7 water supplies to all health and educatiol institutions including anganwadi centres across the state, the chief minister insisted to take up the drinking water supply augmentation programme in a planned way to improve service delivery.

He said to make judicious use of limited resources and asked the department to come up with a comprehensive plan.

Pul asked the departmental officers to prepare an inventory of the existing assets such as infrastructure, water tanks, man power in the district, division, sub-division and section wise indicating year of constructions so that planning could be incorporated in a proper way before going for augmentation programme.

While assuring to provide support on need based, he insisted the department to make realistic plan. He also asked them to make regular maintence of the existing structure and pipeline to improve the delivery system.

The chief minister directed the chief engineers to give special instructions to the executive engineers and the sub-ordite officers in the district immediately to conduct detailed survey in every village and make feasibility study by persolly visiting the field to find out the actual fact.

He instructed them to discuss with the local populace, Panchayati members of the locality and the local legislators to work out the actual need, based on the household and population. The survey and DPR should be completed within the shortest possible time, Pul said.

To do away with recurring problem of water scarcity during lean period everywhere, the chief minister emphasized on tapping drinking water from perennial sources. As an altertive source of water, he instructed the department to tap underground water by boring wells in the hospitals, secondary schools and residential schools in the first phase and also to make provision of rain water harvesting in these institutions.

As many of the newly constructed Govt buildings remained unconnected with water supply and electricity even after the completion of the building causing inconvenience to the parent department, the chief minister suggested to handover interl water supply connection works of departmental buildings to the PHE&WS department.

Taking cognizance of the water crisis in the twin capital, Pul gave instructions to the department to immediately start the proposed water augmentation schemes in the capital region by April as an emergency redressal measure.

The schemes include augmentation of 7 MLD water from Mophu river, augmentation cum extension of 150 mm diameter Lapu source to Senki Park area, construction of head-work at Topper llah for Doria Hill water treatment plant, augmentation of water supply at Dam Site source at harlagun, providing water supply to Lekhi area, ISBT, Urban Karamchari complex, Law college, Women college and improvement of Distribution networks in the twin capital, the report said.

He also gave directions to the department to start the boring works at various constrained areas of Itagar and harlagun including the main market areas, hospitals, schools and guests houses in order to provide uninterrupted water supply.

Chief engineers Tomo Basar and Toko Jyoti apprised the chief minister and other dignitaries about the overall perspective of drinking water & sanitation in the state and the department’s vision and aspirations through power point presentations, the report added.