Dhemaji: Sale of bottled water has risen considerably in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam following laboratory reports that the Siang/Brahmaputra's water had turned turbid and was unfit for drinking.
The affected districts in Assam are Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Majuli while those in neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh are Upper Siang, Siang and East Siang.
The three Arunachal districts have seen a steady rise in bottled water sales ever since reports surfaced of the Siang turning blackish near Tuting in Upper Siang after flowing through Tibet as Yarlung Tsangpo. The Siang flows through Arunachal Pradesh for about 230km before joining the Lohit and the Dibang to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
Chief ministers of both the states have taken up the turbidity issue with the Centre.
According to Dilip Boro, owner of a water bottling plant at Simen Chapori in Dhemaji district, and Moli Basar of Likabali in Lower Siang district, sales usually dipped by nearly 30 per cent during the winter. But this year, they said, sales have increased by about 10 per cent in the past 10 days with demand mostly from shopkeepers in the Brahmaputra basin. Supply of 20-litre bottles to remote areas has risen by about 50 per cent.
Harish Pait of Bahirselek village on the bank of the Siang in Dhemaji district said: "We are collecting water from distant places by digging ditches on sandbars and consuming it after boiling."
Anil Pegu, a shopkeeper from remote Jengeraimukh in Majuli district, said sale of bottled water had gone up from 15 to 30 cartons. "Even 20-litre container sales have gone up from five to 20," he said.
Nearly 31 per cent people in the three Assam districts depend on the Brahmaputra for their daily water consumption. Efforts to ensure potable water has gone up there.
In Guwahati, bottled water sales have seen a steady rise. "In the past two days demand for the 20-litre jar has increased by 30-40 per cent. It could be because of the turbidity," Niranjan Barman, a supplier of bottled water, said.
Additional reporting by Manash Pratim Dutta in Guwahati
