Shrinking lifeline: Charwa dam at Hazaribagh. Picture by Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Hazaribagh, Nov. 19: An acute water crisis looms on Hazaribagh town with the district authorities claiming that Charwa reservoir will be able to cater to the needs of 3 lakh residents till December 15.

PHED executive engineer Kishore Kumar said they were keeping an eye on the water level of the drying reservoir, which was decreasing with every passing day. “The existing water level has made us draw the conclusion that we are in a position to supply water till December 15,” he told The Telegraph.

Deputy commissioner Ravindra Kumar Agarwal has already forwarded a contingency plan to the state government, seeking Rs 1.91 crore to erect hand pumps and dig high-yielding deep bore wells in different wards of the town to tide over the crisis.

“The administration is trying to make alternative arrangements. Once we get the money, we will start work to set up hand pumps. Around three to four hand pumps will come up in each ward. But the situation is alarming. We need more money for a permanent solution and hope Local MP and MLAs will support us,” he said.

“I have discussed the situation with the officials of the PHED department. I even spoke to the officials of municipal board today and took details of hand pumps that were currently functional in different wards,” he added.

Charwa Dam, situated about 6km from the district headquarters, was constructed in 1954 to meet the water demand of near about 30,000 residents of town area. Over the years, the population increased to more than 3 lakh but no action was ever taken by the authorities to ease the load on Charwa.

Lack of maintenance is also blamed for the shrinking of the reservoir’s surface area.

The PHED executive engineer said in normal circumstances, they supplied about 24 lakh gallons of water twice a day. But since June, they have been providing only 12 lakh gallons of water, that too in the evening, because of the dipping water level.

“We also used the water of Hazaribagh lake — about 5 lakh gallons — every year. But this year, the lake dried up, making the situation more challenging,” Kumar added.

The deputy commissioner added the PHED had forwarded a proposal for desiltation of the reservoir. “This is the right time for carrying out desiltation work. But it’s also true that we need an alternative reservoir,” Agarwal said.

Sources in the municipal board said they were looking to source water from Konar Dam in Vishnugarh, about 50km from town.

A Mumbai-based firm has been hired to prepare a detailed project report on the feasibility of utilising Konar’s water.