•-Media has been doing its job in creating awareness for the need of streamlining private water supply connections in Kohima town. It has published very beautiful bunch of water supply pipeline pictures of Kohima town on many occasions. It was so thoughtful of Er.Y.Chuba Ao, Advisor KHC to have raised the last Kohima DPDB meeting held at DC’s Conference Hall on 15 April 2011.
Water scarcity in Kohima town is not a new issue, and it is still likely to continue for some more years until pumping projects from Zaru or Dzuza Rivers are materialized. It is learnt that water supply project from Dzukou/Tepuiki source has been abandoned after spending Crores and Crores of rupees in doing the survey and preliminary works due to non-committal attitude of land owner to Barak River without being tapped for our own myopic vision.
In view of the present situation, private water supply connection may not be able to do away with. In fact, these supplies are in one way helping the Kohima residents in a very big way. The concerned authority like District Administration or Kohima Municipal Council or Urban Development should set out certain guidelines, lest Kohima Town will slowly look no better than a town of pipelines, wires and cables.
If you take a round in Chandmari, Porter lane, Agri/Forest, Merhulietsa(paramedical),New and Old Ministers’ Hill colonies, you will find full of private water supply pipelines running very haphazardly on the rooftops and on electrical and telephone posts, coupled with cable lines, you will see how beautiful Kohima Town is.
Chandigarh is said to be the most well planned city in India. It was designed and planned by Architect Le Corbusier of France. The street connections and water supply system is said to be superb. Kohima being a hilly town, we can also emulate Shimla Town water supply system which is one of the most efficient systems using gravitational force for the supply.
Though we may not be able to have such a system of planning as yet, however it need to be least improved upon to give it to a presentable outlook. This is where Town planners, Engineers and Architects need to play a pivotal role in recommending solutions to the Government and policy makers. Local Town planners, Engineers and architects are to play a pivotal role in shaping the destiny of a developing town or city like Kohima.
As of now, the private pipelines be allowed only to be laid the side of the roads as the Government water supply connections do, but never allow them to across the roads or on the rooftops or for that matter on telephone/electrical posts; lest it is giving a very ugly outlook to Kohima-the town which we fondly coined it to be the Mirror of Nagaland.
Er.Neisievilie Lhousa
Merhulietsa(paramedical)Kohima
