Drinking water crisis hits hard Moirang residents
Source: Chronicle News Service

Bishnupur, July 21 2021: Several localities falling under Moirang Municipal Council are facing shortage of drinking water and putting immense hardships on the people.

Consequent to the water crisis, a team comprising volunteers of Moirang Kendra Apunba Maira Paibi Ima Lup (MAMPIL) and Kege Moirang Kendra Apunba Lup (KEMKAL) inspected the Accelerated Urban Water Supply Scheme located at Molphei Tampak meant for supplying drinking water to Moirang localities but found the scheme ownerless.

The team also found that the complex of the water supply scheme was overgrown with tall grasses while water filtration tanks were filled with debris and unfit for use.

Apart from this, the team also found that water from gorges of Thangjing range were directly put into unfit filtration tanks and supplied to people without filtration, thereby causing skin infection to people using the water.

While water supplied from Molphei Tampak scheme could not even meet requirements of people of 2/3 localities of Moirang, some farmers were found breaking the pipeline and diverting water into their paddy fields thereby causing acute drinking water shortage in Moirang.

Amidst the suffering during the COVID-19 induced lockdown, people of Moirang localities are buying 1000-litre of drinking water at Rs 350-400 and this has been adding to the burden of the people particularly economically weak families, a volunteer told media persons during the inspection visit and appealed to authority concerned to look into the matter immediately.

A woman of Moirang Ward No 1 Panshang Leikai, who was found waiting to fetch tap water, told the team that there was regular water supply from Molphei Tampak scheme around three years back but the water was never filtered.

Sometimes, muddy water used to be supplied from the scheme if there was rain while quality of water was very poor sometimes but people had to fetch the water as they have no option.

The woman also drew attention of the department concerned so as to ensure supply of safe drinking water from Molphei Tampak scheme.

MAMPIL general secretary N Thaba Devi, who was part of the team, told media persons that people of Moirang are facing acute drinking water shortage in-spite of the fact that there is abundant water at Molphei Tampak water supply scheme reservoir.

Moreover, the water is not filtered and hence using water from the scheme might cause more serious disease than COVID-19, she said and appealed to farmers who broke water pipeline from Molphei Tampak scheme not to do so.

The inspection visit was also participated by KEMKAL joint secretary L Boy, publicity secretary Ph Shyamjai and advisors Yumkhaibam Surjit Khuman and M Somorjit apart from volunteers of the two organisations.

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