Summer is coming and drinking water crisis looms large for around three lakh residents of Adityapur and Gamharia townships in Seraikela-Kharawan district.
This as the water level of Sitarampur dam, the only source of drinking water to the townships, is depleting rapidly as both its intake wells, built on Kharkai river bed, and spillway gates have become defunct due to lack of proper maintenance. This apart the water storage capacity of the 19.2sqkm dam has reduced due to silt, leading a local NGO, Jan Kalyan Morcha, to submit a petition to Seraikela-Kharsawan deputy commissioner Ramesh Gholap last Thursday.
It demanded immediate repair of the dam's two intake wells and five spillway gates.
"We have requested the district administration to intervene in the situation and take initiatives for mending the spillway gates and intake wells as there is still time in hand. Otherwise people of Adityapur and Gamharia will have to face acute drinking water crisis this year," warned Om Prakash, president of Jan Kalyan Morcha.
The two intake wells are built on the Kharkai river bed along Bhua and Kuluptanga village. Bhua intake well pumps water from Kharkai to the Sitarampur dam whereas the Kuluptanga well supplies the river water directly to a filtration plant in Sitarampur.
Now after the damages, drinking water and sanitation department (DWSD) has to pump stored dam water to the filtration plant directly. Every day five million gallons of water is pumped from the Sitarampur dam for filtration and distribution in the residential and industrial areas in Adityapur and Gamharia.
DWSD superintending engineer Rajendra Prasad said the spillway gates and intake wells would be repaired soon.
"We have surveyed the dam's water level last Tuesday. It was 21 feet, just a feet less than the dam's maximum capacity. Rs 1.2 crore has been sanctioned for mending the spillway gates and the process of repairing the intake wells is also in progress. We are trying to complete the repairs well ahead of summer," claimed the superintending engineer.
Prasad added that Rs 12 crore had been sanctioned for increasing the water storage capacity of the dam, the work for which would begin soon.
But the Jan Kalyan Morcha president pointed out that the process of work at DWSD was very slow as the funds were sanctioned last year itself.
"Not only the repair, but the work of increasing the dam's storage capacity is pending since last year. So we have approached the district administration for expediting the mending work," said Om Prakash.
