Guwahati: Guwahati residents have to wait for two and a half years to get access to household tap water because water projects in the city are still delayed even though construction starts a decade ago.
The Urban Minister Ashok Singhal on Thursday told the media that it would take at least 30 months to sort the drinking water crisis by completing all four water projects in the city.
He, however, said his department would ensure a portion of commissioning in certain regions, if possible, after March next year after minutes of minutes of progress and other related aspects of these projects.
Four water supply projects were being built in the city to sort out the crisis of drinking water decades.
Construction of the Southeast Guwahati project (funded by the Asian Development Bank) began in 2016, Guwahati Barat Selatan (funded by Jawaharlal Nehru National Round Renewal Mission (JICA)) in 2009, Guwahati South Central (funded by JICA) in 2011 and the North Project Guwahati (funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency) in 2011.
The state government has missed several deadlines to assign the project.
In September, Rupjyoti Talukdar, the executive engineer was responsible for the JICA project implementation unit, said the city’s population would get household tap water in July next year.
On February 15, the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar along with the Japanese Ambassador Satoshi Suzuki took stock of work progress from JICA-funded water supply projects and said it would be completed in July next year.
The same is claimed by the Minister of Development Department Guwahati Sidhartha Bhattacharya.
According to Jal Guwahati council, only about 30% of nearly 3 lakh households in the city currently have access to tap water.
Most of the city residents must depend on private water suppliers, TubeWells, hand pumps or other sources for water.
At present, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) and Drinking Air Board & Sewerage Metropolitan Guwahati (GMDW & SB) supplies more than 31 MLD water in the city of three water treatment plants in Satpukhuri (assigned to 1930), Panbazar (assigned in 1963) and Kamakhya (assigned in 1992).
Speaking of delays in completing the project, Talukdar, who is also an executive engineer of Metropolitan Drinking Water Guwahati, said, “Submitting land for construction, permission from the Ministry of Forestry regarding environmental impact assessments and permission from the National Highway Authority of the Indian Public Works Department and Assam for a crossroads During the laying pipe and the construction of the culverts is the reason for the initial delay.
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