The drinking water supply in the Siliguri civic area has been affected for the past few days because of intense rainfall in the upper catchments of the Teesta river, which is the source of water piped to households in the city.
Sources in Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) said the river had swollen because of the rains and was carrying silt, pebbles and granules from upstream.
“Silt, pebbles and granules will enter the intake well of the treatment plant (which is in Fulbari near Siliguri) if we draw muddy water. Eventually, we will have to clean the well, a task that will take days. So, we have restricted the inflow of water into the plant. This has led to the present situation,” said a source.
“Once the water quality of the Teesta improves, we will start pumping water to the plant for treatment so that it can be supplied across the city. In the past 48 hours, the drinking water supply has been erratic in different municipal wards.
As of now, the average daily demand for drinking water in Siliguri is around 100 million litres per day (MLD). With the existing infrastructure at the plant, barely 50 MLD of water is supplied in the civic area.
“The supply is almost half of the demand, which means there is a shortfall. The further decrease in the water supply in the past two days has added to the inconveniences of people,” pointed out a resident.
Realising the shortage of drinking water in the city, the civic authorities have pumped some water to the intake well so that 30 to 35 MLD of water can be supplied from the plant.
“This is being done with regular monitoring with the turbidity meter. If we find any excess silt in the river’s water, the inflow will be immediately stopped,” the source said.
Mayor Gautam Deb held a meeting on Monday to discuss plans to tackle the water crisis.
“The turbidity in Teesta’s water is high these days, and we have no other option but to depend on this river and wait for the water’s quality to improve. We are exploring alternatives to provide drinking water to people,” said Deb.
He said 38 mobile water tanks were engaged to supply water in the municipal wards.
“We will also buy 10 more tanks, each with a capacity of 3,000 litres, to handle the situation. Also, over one lakh water pouches will be distributed in the wards with the help of the state PHE department,” the mayor added.