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Port Blair, Feb 16: Responding to the worries among the islanders relating to curtailment of water supply, the Hon’ble Lt. Governor Lt. Gen. (Retd.) Bhopinder Singh today called a press conference at Raj Niwas at 4.30 pm. The Lt. Governor announced, “There is no scarcity of water as such but we need to reserve the existing water till mid of March, which is the peak summer season”. The present curtailment is also being done keeping in mind the failure of the North-East monsoon and if it rains it will be a bonus to us, Lt. Governor said.
“It’s not that we are not keeping up our promises to create more water reserves. There have been certain hurdles which delayed the ongoing major projects such as raising the height of Dhannikhari Dam, Rutland Island Sub Marine Pipeline Project, Sppighat Project and Kamsrat Nallah project”.
The work of raising the height of Dhannikhari Dam is going on steady. The reason for the delay is due to the ‘seismic zone V’ in which our islands fall. We need to be careful while proceeding with the work as there are regular tremours being experienced, the Lt. Governor explained.
As far as Submarine Pipeline Project to transfer water from Rutland Island is concerned, it had been cleared by the NIOT and the work had commenced on both the ends, Rutland and Manjeri. But it came as a shock to us when the NIOT instructed to stop the work after it realized recently that there is a funnel area in the way. Now the NIOT suggests that a bridge be constructed to transfer water from Rutland, LG said.
“If that is the case, why did the NIOT clear the project at all”, Lt. Governor commented.
“I have taken up this matter personally with the Ministry and I’m positive that a solution will be drawn soon. Moreover I have argued that if NIOT suggests for construction of a bridge solely for pipeline, why can’t we construct a road along the pipeline bridge that would connect the main island to Rutland keeping in view the tourism potential the island has”, Lt. Governor explained.
As far as the Sippighat Water Reservoir Project is concerned, the people holding the land are not willing to give up until they are compensated. The people whose land is submerged have to believe the Administration that the compensation would be given, LG said.
“The sanction for Kamsarat Nallah project is expected to be given by the end of this month”, the Lt. Governor added.
Meanwhile the Lt. Governor has called upon the islanders to use water judiciously. “If we use water judiciously I’m sure the crisis can be contained”, he said.
Instructions have also been given to the Port Blair Municipal Council to check on the feasibility of supplying water before office hours so that water is not wasted. The Lt. Governor also instructed the concerned authorities to clean up the existing wells and to take action on individuals who have encroached upon public wells.
While the Lt. Governor has been showing keen interests to keep up his promises, Andaman Chronicle also received suggestions from the general public especially residents of Prothrapur to convert existing stone quarries into water reservoirs.
“Even today there are quarries, which are closed for want of renewal of their licence. They can be converted into check dams as they have perennial source of water in it. In Prothrapore there is a quarry which is around 40 mtrs deep and 200 mtrs wide and has perennial source of water. During tsunami when the pipelines were disrupted, water was being collected from this quarry”, Shibu Varghese a resident of Prothrapur suggested. |
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