Water supply twice or thrice a week : Time to address the basics
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 08 2015 -

Odd and even number plates on alternate days.

This is the formula the Delhi Government is going to experiment with from January 1 next year to beat the traffic congestion as well as to curb pollution.

Quixotic ? The people of Delhi obviously seem to think so if the report furnished by Firstpost is any indication, but the efforts of the AAP Government to tackle an issue which has for long been the bane of Delhi cannot be simply ignored.

There is a problem and the Government is willing to experiment with ideas, is the message that has been rung out. Something which cannot be said about the Congress Government here.

In power for the third consecutive term, it is difficult to note that in more than ten years of being in office, the State Government does not seem to have given any thought to the water supply scenario in Imphal.

Go to any location in Imphal and the standard response will be, the people receive water supply only twice or thrice a week.

That too for only a limited number of hours.

Top this off with the fact that in most cases, the water supplied through the pipes is simply not fit for raw consumption and one should get a fair idea of how the concept of water supply has blown over the head of the Government.

To think that this is happening in a place which receive plenty of rainfall in a year and the failure of the Government should become clear.

Moreover the population of Imphal is just 2,68,243 as per the 2011 Census and it is tough to believe that the Government is still unable to supply adequate water to all its citizens.

Something is definitely wrong with the priority of the powers that be.

This is how it has been for the last many, many years. More than obvious that to the Government supplying potable water to its citizens is nowhere there on the radar.

When the Government has failed in delivering something as fundamental as potable water to its citizens, then what does the future hold for the capital city of the State ?

Difficult to believe that it is this same Government which is today talking about making Imphal a Smart City.

In the face of the Government miserably failing to supply water to its citizens, it is not uncommon to see numerous households buying water from private water tankers.

In some localities, water is even being sold by the bucket. This not only means a big drain on the pockets of the common people, but also exposes the hollowness of the Government.

Power supply has improved a lot in the last one or two years and this should more than underline the point that if some efforts are made and if the Government applies its mind to the task at hand, something concrete can certainly be done to improve water supply to the public.

Let the Government address the basic issues and only then let them talk about taking Imphal to the league of Smart Cities. This will make sense.

Or is it going to be a case of the State Government taking a leaf from their Delhi counterpart and stipulating that people must take their bath only on alternate days ?