MALDA, 24 MARCH: The shortage of water in the Ganga which has affected distribution of arsenic-free drinking water supply to large parts of the district, the public health engineering (PHE) department here has resorted to public campaign against wastage of water.
Using public address systems, PHE department officials are urging people in blocks I and III of Kaliachak in the district not to misuse drinking water. They are also making people aware of the water situation in the Ganga.
According to the executive engineer of the PHE department in Malda, Mr Debashish Banerjee, the people have been asked not waste water supplied from the arsenic-free treatment plant, to turn off the street taps after use and not to drill pipelines illegally to get water. Apprehending uncertainty over the availability of adequate water-flow in the Ganga from the first week of April, the PHE department has also asked people to store drinking water fro the next few days.
About 5.5 lakh people in the three arsenic affected blocks depend on drinking water supplied from the treatment plant at Dariapur, in Kaliachak block III. The non-availability of water has affected them the most. The PHE department could not supply water from 19 March till midday today, as the pond level of the Ganga went down after releasing water to Bangladesh in keeping with the water-sharing pact between the two countries.
“We are worried about the inadequate flow of water in the Ganga during the dry spell. We do not know how to collect water from the Ganga when water would be released to Bangladesh from 1 April”, said a PHE executive engineer.
The Farakka Barrage Project (FBP) authorities held a meeting with the PHE and NTPC officials in Malda and Farakka, respectably, on the situation. The FBP has reduced distribution of water through its feeder canal to Calcutta Port from yesterday to save the PHE in Malda. SNS
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