Imphal, November 02 2008: Hit hard by the unavailability of potable water in the locality, local people of Yumnam Leikai staged a protest sitting at Yumnam Leikai Ngakraba Leirak today.

The Yumnam Leikai Ngakraba Leirak Development Association has also warned that the Singjamei-Imphal road will be blocked in case potable water is not made available to the locality by November 15 .

Since the expansion of NH 39 from Imphal to Singjamei and road sides dug up for the Sewerage Project, water supply to Yumnam Leikai Ngakraba Leirak has been ceased for the last three years.

Well-off families managed by buying potable water but those who cannot afford to buy potable water fetch water from hand pump installed at Singjamei Super Market day and night.

One 55 year old Moirangthem Santi who took part in the protest sitting said that they have been using water bought at exorbitant rate of Rs 140 per 1000 litre since three years back.

Using it in the most judicious manner, 1000 litre of water lasted for two days at the most.

All the people of the locality, men and women and school going children have been always preoccupied by the problem of water shortage, she said.

The water scarcity has hit almost all the families so hard that many households have been cooking rice without washing rice.

As the locality is thickly populated there is neither community pond nor private ponds, said another protester while noting that the unavailability of water has compounded their woes who are already over-burdened by inflation.

Asking how long they can survive on purchased water, the protesters urged upon the authority concerned to take up necessary measures so that potable water is made available to the locality.

They also put up placards which read as "What is the use of the keeping the Department that cannot provide potable water", "Neither the State nor Imphal can be developed while water is not available" etc.

A representative of the Yumnam Leikai Ngakraba Leirak Development Association said that the water used in the households of Yumnam Leikai and neighbouring localities were earlier supplied from Iroishemba water supply plant.

Although potable water had not been available in the area since three years back, water has been made available to the neighbouring localities of Thokchom Leikai and Loklaobung.

But Yumnam Leikai is yet to receive potable water till date.

The matter has been already intimated to the local MLA and the Government, he said.

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