Mud, dirt in drinking water, Vivekananda Road residents continue to complain; “Working on it” Executive officer Lalsim

Article 21 of the Constitution of India which ensures “Right to Life and Human Rights” states “water” as the basic need for the survival of human beings. Considering that, the Right to Water can be considered a fundamental right in India. UNICEF states that in India, less than 50 per cent of the population has access to safely managed drinking water. The water that reaches our homes via the PHE pipelines is not safe for drinking and needs to be purified through reverse osmosis or other filtration techniques. This filtration process at home is a very alien technique in the west. Imagine, the PHE pipe connection at your home carrying foul-smelling, muddy, gutter water. You neither can purify it for drinking nor use it for other necessities. This is the condition of the locals of Vivekananda Road, Silchar for over two months now.

For the last two months, the residents of Vivekananda Road, Silchar had been facing severe issues with the drinking water that is being supplied by the PHE department. The water is contaminated with foul smell, mud and dirt particles. The residents have complained several times to all the concerned departments, but the issue remained unsolved. With the onset of the rain, the water stagnation has started and the accumulated rainwater has no source of passage. The drains are cluttered and fail their basic purpose of draining the rainwater. This issue is not new to Silchar, but it has reached its extreme in Vivekananda Road. The same gutter and accumulated rainwater enter the PHE pipes through various leakages and get supplied to the homes.

Speaking about this issue, Sujoy Nath, a local of that area said, “Whenever we have complained about this stagnant water issue and the contaminated water, different concerned departments have played the blame game. When we went to the Silchar Municipal Board with this issue, they said PHE is responsible and vice versa. We don’t have the basic necessity of drinking water. We are being discriminated against for our Fundamental Rights. The drainage is not at all proper. The accumulated water has no path to escape. Earlier there was one drain connecting up to the Maliniibeel, but that passes through private property. Due to construction, they had to block that passage. With this, the accumulation of rainwater became a serious issue”.

Jayanta Nath, another resident of the same area who even has tried to solve the problem on his own said, “During last year’s Durga Puja, I tried to put my own money and solve the problem of pipe leakage. But the locals have obstructed me as I couldn’t get permission from the Public Works Department. Later when I requested the engineers of the department, they gave me verbal assurance and said the work would be done by them. But that didn’t happen last year and the problem persists. In addition to that, this year, we’ve lost the privilege of safe drinking water. The pipelines that carry water to our home are over 6 decades old. This needs replacement as it is beyond repair. There are several leakages at different points and the water from gutters and drains reaches our home through these pipes. We have to purchase drinking water even after paying yearly water tax”. Nath has further questioned the department of Town & Urban Planning and said, “If this doesn’t end soon, we will be bound to take to the streets and block the main road”.

On April 11, the women of this area took the matter into their hands and knocked on the door of the Deputy Commissioner of Cachar. They have submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. On behalf of the residents of Vivekananda Road, Subhana Das, Nivedita Nath, Sandhya Nath and others submitted this memorandum with the subject, “complaint regarding insufficient and dirty supply of drinking water”. They’ve also complained that, with the increase in population, the demand and supply ratio of water is not fulfilled. They don’t get sufficient water daily. Further, they’ve also complained that the stagnant water on the road and contaminated water in the water supply are causing various water-borne diseases in the locality and there is a chance of spreading an epidemic as well.

The memorandum also stated that “Recently, during operation of eviction drive of alleged illegal occupier of road-side land and cleaning of the drain at Vivekananda Road, Silchar by the PWD, numbers of house connections of water supply have been damaged, as a result, drain water is continuously seeping into the pipeline”. They’ve requested the district administration to look into it on an emergency basis and solve this crisis.

Barak Bulletin has reached Executive Officer, Silchar Municipality Board Jassica Rose Lalsim. When asked about whether the problem will be solved on a priority basis, she said, “We have taken this matter seriously and are working on it. We are clearing out the drains so that the water can flow smoothly. It’s a very long persistent issue and can’t be solved all of a sudden. We have formed an experts team along with the District Disaster Management Authority and we are working on it. We are analysing the cause and effect and only then we can reach a possible solution. This might take some time, but we will solve this issue. We are hopeful that, this year the situation will be far better than previous years and it’s a work in progress. About the outlet, we are trying to find a solution, even if it’s temporary, we will be able to solve this as well”.

When asked about, who is responsible for the drinking water crisis, the Officer said, “So far as I have been told, when the BSNL laid their underground lines months back, the pipeline was damaged. These pipes belong to the PHE Department and not the Municipality. But we’re helping them in repairing it. Whenever we see any leakages, we address that and try to repair them. Since the pipes pass through the ground, it can not always be found where the leakage is and through which point, contaminated water is penetrating. We have been working on that as well and solve the problem soon”.