Discussion on supply of turbid water in Shillong rocks Assembly
Raising the issue earlier, Congress legislator from East Shillong Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh attacked the government over the supply of turbid water in the city for the last two weeks, and said, “If we don’t die from Covid, we will surely die from cholera.”
SHILLONG:
Minister in-charge of Public Health Engineering (PHE), Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, on Friday informed the House that the water supply in Shillong city was briefly stopped because the water that flowed to the reservoir through the newly commissioned Gravity Main (1000 mm diameter) pipes was of substandard quality and not safe for human consumption.
He informed that the PHE department had tested the pipeline owing to collection of dust and soil over time. As a result, the department reverted to the 750-mm diameter pipes, he said.
Raising the issue earlier, Congress legislator from East Shillong Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh attacked the government over the supply of turbid water in the city for the last two weeks, and said, “If we don’t die from Covid, we will surely die from cholera.”
In his reply, Tongkhar said the government is trying to resolve the water issues, and one solution may be to expand the pipeline size to 1,000 mm dia in order to cater to the increasing demand for water in Shillong.
He further informed the House that the department is currently supplying 9.20 million gallons per day (mgd) of water against a total demand of 10.69 mgd in Shillong. Replying to Lyngdoh’s supplementary query, the minister said there is no "acute" water crisis in the city, and that the overall supply of water to the residents of the city is "adequate".
The Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) asked if the government is planning to renovate the non-functional Umkhen reservoir which used to supply water to areas such as Nongthymmai, but was affected by storms. To this, Tongkhar responded that the "issue will be taken up in a meeting that will be held very soon".
In response to Mawlai MLA and Opposition Chief whip P.T. Sawkmie, Tongkhar said the government is projected to complete the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme Phase III within the ongoing financial year. He further informed that the department has asked contractors to commence work on the project, and the work is expected to begin within this working season.
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