WASTE WATER, WASTE LIFE
Water, water
everywhere but not a drop to drink…or bathe…or wash
 To find out more about the problems of
the people of Kalimpong town, GT reporters
went from place to place asking people how they managed their water supply daily.
While washing clothes near the water reservoir tank at Baghdhara spring, Bharati Pradhan said:” During the rainy
season plenty of water is available but during the dry season the scarcity
increases.” The PHE supply during the
rainy season is about half-an-hour but only 10 to 15 minutes that also every alternate day
during summer.” She says people from far
and near come to use the spring during the dry season.
“Water is not sufficient because tapping of the main line is a common practice here. The PHE supply is not enough for the number of
people, so people steal water from the line.”
K.T.Bhutia, Resident of Fair View Compound |
GT met K.T.Bhutia, who was in
the middle of his bath near Fair View compound. Scrubbing
his head, he said: “Water is not
sufficient because tapping of the mainline is a common practice here. The PHE supply is not enough for the number of
people, so people steal water from the line.”
When asked why the people are still complaining, H.N. Pradhan, Assistant engineer,
PHE says:” People do illegal tapping throughout the day. Of late, DGHC has been
emphasizing on Reli Thopsu project. But if
one lakh gallon of water is pumped, only 50,000 gallons reaches the tank due to tapping by
people on the way. Regarding the failure of
the Neora Valley Project, he solely blamed the government.
He assured us that by 2001, round-the-clock supply would be provided through the
Reli project.
Mr
Chettri, head clerk of PHE,Deolo, said:” The Deolo tank was built in1947 taking in
view the population in that year. The
population has more than doubled since then. That’s
why the scarcity.”
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The
Neora Valley Project
Rs 47 crores down the drain!
 The water problems in Kalimpong started way
back in 1955.But it w3asn’t such a serious concern.
However, after the 1962 Indo-China war, there was an increased presence of the
army. This increased the demand for water.
But it was only in the 1980s that the government decided to do something about this.
In 1992, the Neora Drinking Water Supply scheme was started east of Kalimpong on the Neora
Khola. The cost of this project was shared
between the Central government and the state government.
The water distribution would be in the ratio of 60:40 among the civil population
and the army of Kalimpong.
Celebrated ornithologist, the late Salim Ali, objected to the project as it would
cause an ecological disturbance to the Neora Valley. According to him, the valley was one
of India’s virgin forests and had some rare species like the red panda and monal
pheasant.
There was a lot of political pressure to provide water to the thirty townspeople of
Kalimpong. So around 1985 the government finally started the project. But it took longer
than anticipated for the project to end. It
was finally completed in1995 in three phases. One tank in Deolo, two in Baluakhani, and
one in Lava which would have supplied 129 million gallons of water throughout the month.
But this grand project has only been a dream for the people of this region. Meanwhile, Rs.47 crore has gone down the drain!
Dr O.B.Das, Secretary of the Indian Red Cross Society who investigated this project, says
that public awareness and action on the part of the authorities to stop illegal tapping,
wastage of water and deforestation is the way out of this mess.
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 That during the driest period of the
year, Kalimpong has a shortfall of 1,44,336 gallons per day of water?
- That Thuckchu Khola is the
nearest perennial source and Neora Khola the farthest?
- That six principle rivers
originate in Kalimpong division, namely Leesh, Ghish, Chel,
Murti, Reli and Neora?
- That
about 20,000 litres per day or 10 litres per head per day is used by the people of
Kalimpong?
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A
Down To Earth Supplement
