IMPHAL: With major rivers and water project sites drying up owing to scanty rainfall, Imphal valley is witnessing a mad rush for potable water even as the government is contemplating pumping water from the Loktak lake in Bishnupur district to combat the growing crisis.
Water levels in Singda dam, Imphal and Iril rivers, which provide drinking water to the state capital after being routed through several treatment plants, have drastically decreased, compelling the state public health engineering department (PHED) to cut down on the normal supply rate of drinking water.
Imphal residents are coughing up Rs 1,000 for 5,000 litres of water from private suppliers. Despite paying such exorbitant rates, residents are being forced to wait for a couple of days for the water to reach them, with demand overtaking supply.
"After waiting for two days, I purchased 5,000 litres of water from a private supplier today. But this will last only for a week and I have already booked for the next delivery," said SG Sharma, an Imphal resident on Wednesday.
Earlier this year, Rs 1,000 would have fetched 12,000 litres of water, he added. Doubts remain about the quality of water being sold by private companies as no government agency has checked whether it is suitable for human consumption.
PHED minister Irengbam Hemochandra Singh, who visited various government-run water supply sites in and around the capital, including Singda dam, on Tuesday, admitted that the state is facing an alarming shortage of water. If needed, water will be pumped from Loktak, the largest freshwater lake in the northeast and distributed to the public after being treated, the minister added.
Several factors, including deforestation, have contributed to the acute water crisis which has been gripping the state from March to May for the last three years, the minister said. Stating that his department is trying to address the water crisis, the minister appealed to people to refrain from panicking.
The state, unlike previous years, has experienced negligible rainfall in the last four months, said Imphal meteorological observatory unit officials, adding that the grim situation is a result of global warming.
NEDF urge state govt to intervene
IMPHAL, April 24 (NNN): The North East Dialogue Forum, Manipur (NEDF) today urged the state government of Manipur to immediately intervene on the water scarcity problem faced by the people of the state.
IMPHAL, April 24 (NNN): The North East Dialogue Forum, Manipur (NEDF) today urged the state government of Manipur to immediately intervene on the water scarcity problem faced by the people of the state.
Kh. Rebati Raman, member of NEDF, Manipur while interacting with media persons said that even as the people of the state have faced a water crisis, the concerned PHED department of the state still remains a silent spectator. Rebati urged the concerned department to take up necessary steps so that potable water is made available to the people soon and further damages caused by its shortage be tackled as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, the forum has also demanded that state water policy, state forest policy and state land use policy to be developed and implemented in the state and abide with the United Nations Declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples criteria. The forum has also demanded that the water body and catchment areas be guarded properly by the state authorities.
