Ukhrul reels under water crisis, CFSWUT urges Govt
Source: The Sangai Express

Ukhrul, July 28 2017: With the water scarcity crisis continuing to grip the whole of Ukhrul township for a prolonged period after the recent Cyclone Mora destroyed water sources at Shirui hills, the Committee for Scarcity of Water in Ukhrul Town (CFSWUT) has urged the State Government to take up necessary steps to restore water supply in the town at the earliest .

Highlighting the woes of the residents of the town in the face of the continued water scarcity during a press conference at UDWJA office on Friday evening, AS Vaomi, president of CFSWUT said that more than six thousand households residing in the town are currently reeling under severe shortage of drinking water ever since the recent Cyclone Mora swept away water reservoirs of the only water source at Shirui hills last month .

PHED is currently catering to around 1300 registered consumers in the town, apart from road side hydrants .

“As the pipeline water supply has been snapped, most households are now compelled to rely on rain water irrespective of its quality but then how long will they sustain, ” he pointed out and added that once the dry season comes, the problem is bound to double up unless the water supply is restored at once .

“In view of the prevailing water crisis that has arisen due to failure on the part of the department to restore the pipeline water supply even after one month as anticipated, the Committee was instituted on July 20 comprising representatives of Tangkhul Naga Wungnao Long (TNWL) and four zonal Longphangs of the district and is mandated to mount pressure on the Government to end the crisis at once, ” Vaomi asserted .

He further informed that when the committee contacted the PHED Ukhrul Division over the delay in restoration works, the department expressed their helplessness despite their best efforts as they were lacking both manpower and machinery for the restoration works.

Vaomi then conveyed that it is learnt that the had proposed the Government for sanctioning Rs 80 lakh for the repair of the damaged reservoirs and pipeline structures but no positive response has come forth till date .

“We are ready to provide manpower in our own capacity but the department needs technical skills for the works, ” he continued .

At the same time, Vaomi disclosed that in connection with the current water crisis, a meeting of the committee was held on Thursday at TNWL office and unanimously resolved to take up tree plantation at Shirui hillside in April of every year from 2018 onward so as to salvage the only water source of the town.

“For this, we decided to ask the district administration to reserve Rs 2 lakh and also to appeal to the villagers to stop felling trees,” he said .

The meeting further resolved to check unauthorized tapping of pipeline water from the sources to households, and also to demand additional water reservoir in the town, and mobile water distribution to different localities to mitigate the situation, he informed .

“On July 31, the committee is planning to do a spot survey at the water sources at Shirui hills along with the department,” he added.

Comment