The perennial shortage of drinking water
faced by residents in the Darjeeling municipality areas is set to end
with the central government today agreeing to sanction Rs169.20 crore
for revamping the existing distribution system and constructing storage
tanks.
Municipality officials today held a
video conference from the Writers’ Buildings in Kolkata with
representatives of the central government along with state government
officials.
Speaking over phone from Kolkata,
Darjeeling municipality chairman Amar Singh Rai said, "The video
conference with central government officials was fruitful. We convinced
the Centre on the need to revamp the water distribution system in the
Darjeeling municipality areas that is in a shambles at present. The
officials have agreed to grant us Rs169.20 crore to implement the
project.”
Rai said the central government would
fund 80 per cent of the total amount, while the remaining 15 per cent
will have to be borne by the state and the municipality.
"As the municipality is facing an acute
monetary crisis, we will need to take a loan to meet our share from the
state municipal affairs department," said the chairman.
He said the meeting’s success was the result of months of persuasion with both state and central ministers.
"When we took up office a couple of
years back, we had prioritised the drinking water problem of town. We
had chalked out a comprehensive plan and submitted it to the state
government. Over the months, we had constantly pursued the matter with
the state urban development and municipality affairs department, with
the last meeting held in November last year," said Rai, adding the
project in the pipeline is massive and would go a long way in meeting
the drinking water requirements of town.
Darjeeling town requires nearly 15 lakh
gallons of water on average on a daily basis. During the peak season,
the town receives about 8-9 million gallons of water, but this quantity
drastically drops to 4-5 million gallons during lean periods.
The overhead storage tanks installed in
Rockville and St. Paul's distribute drinking water to town and they are
in turn fed by the North and South and the Sindhap Lakes in Sinchel
above Jorebungalow, 15km away from Darjeeling town. The three lakes are
fed by 26 jhoras (streams).
The chairman also said the water
distribution project includes setting up of reservoirs in the 32 wards
of the municipality including pumping stations and metre-reading systems
for domestic and commercial lines.
"We will construct tanks in each of the
32 wards under the municipality. The distribution pipes are in a
dilapidated state and we will repair them too to ensure smooth water
flow," said Rai.
The Darjeeling municipality will ink a
Memorandum of Agreement with the concerned state and central government
departments on February 26 in Kolkata to get the green signal for
implementing the project.
The much hyped Balasan drinking water
project that pumps water in two stages (35km uphill) to the Sinchel
reservoirs is in commission. But the facility is used only during the
lean season and has not been a success.
Source: EOIC