Sikkim Mail

Darjeeling: 18 January, 2012

Alpha Thapa

After a long time it seems the water crisis in Darjeeling is somewhere near its solution. The ordeal that the people often have to face for simply having enough to meet their bare minimum daily needs is amply illustrated by the huge queue for drinking water or the famous cart wheel carriers that the people in Darjeeling use to fetch water from faraway sources.

A scheme to start pump water to lakes in and around Darjeeling is in the pipeline for quite sometime now. The project called the Balasan Hydro Project will soon start and after its completion the pumping will start. As per the information received from Darjeeling Municipality Chairman Amar Rai Municipality board has already prepared the scheme for water supply to Darjeeling. After the pumping of water to lakes starts Municipality Engineering Department has prepared a blue print of distribution of water.

There are altogether 32 wards in Darjeeling Municipality and on the basis of Municipality Engineering Department all these 32 wards will be allotted with one water tank each. People right now are getting 10 litres of water per person per day but according to the new scheme people will be getting 70 litres of water per person per day. The project cost will come up to Rs 156
corers. However Rai also added that for the completion of this scheme it will take almost one and half years because construction of tanks, laying of pipes etc will take time. Once the Central Government approves it the project will officially take off, said Rai.

 

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