Berhampur, May 11: The Silk City is facing serious water crisis. Taps are running dry and serpentine queues in front of water tankers and public stand posts have become common sight here.
The heat wave lashing the city has become unbearable. The maximum temperature of the day has been crossing the 40°C mark and most business establishments prefer to down their shutters before noon and markets wear a deserted look at mid-day and the afternoon.
Wells and ponds have dried up and the non-availability of sufficient water through domestic pipelines to thousands of consumers has added to the woes of local residents.“While Berhampur’s 4.5lakh inhabitants require at least 50MLD (million litres per day) during this period, they have to remain content with 37MLD. There is shortage of 13MLD of water. The Silk City gets drinking water from two main sources — Rushikulya Joint Water Supply Scheme and the century-old Dakhinpur impounding reservoir.
“Approximately, 16MLD of water is being supplied to Berhampur town from Rushikulya project and Dakhinpur impounding reservoir is supplying 17MLD water. Around 30 large wells provide an additional 4MLD water,” Debasunder Mohapatra, executive engineer of PH division, Berhampur, said.
PHD has pressed into service 44 tankers to supply drinking water to the affected localities.
“There are 1,158 hand pumps in 37 wards of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation which are functioning and we have decided to provide 74 additional hand pumps (two in each ward). Out of these, 40 have already been set up,” Mohapatra said.
Mohapatra hoped that the water crisis in Berhampur would be solved in three months. “Construction of a 20MLD treatment plant at Dakhinpur reservoir site under UIDSSMT programme worth Rs 527.95lakh is in progress and it is scheduled to be completed by August,” the executive engineer said.
Water supply to Berhampur town was first provided in 1905 with a capacity of 2.724MLD for a population of 30,000. The water supply here was was first augmented in 1961 to 9.08MLD. It was further augmented through Rushikulya joint water supply system during the eighties. Water supply to Berhampur was taken over by the PHED from Berhampur Municipality on August 1, 1986, said sources.
There are two numbers of impounding reservoirs at Dakhinpur covering an area of 40 and 70 acres of land. The reservoirs are fed from Sorada reservoir by one open canal (10th distributory) from Rushikulya Irrigation System. On the other hand Rushikulya Joint Water Supply Project was constructed during 1980’s with three collectors wells situated at badamahapur and near Potlampur. Clear water is being transmitted to the reservoir at kaliabali through 900 mm dia PSC pipe and clear water to berhampur town is fed through 900/ 750/ 600 mm dia PSC/ CI pipe by gravity, sources said.
Debasish Mishra residing at Sashi Bhushan Nagar 1st lane since last few decades alleged that the well in his house has dried up and the PHED house connection taps in his residence running dry most of the time despite repeated complaints to the authorities. “The ill-health of my mother has worsened the situation and we are even not able to stand in the long queue for hours together to collect a meagre amount of water being provided to the people through tankers”, he said in a tone full of anger and anguish. “It is better to leave this place”, he commented.
People in Berhampur are also aghast at the promises made by different political parties to solve the drinking water problems. Usually many make drinking water crisis as a major issue during summer who raise hue and cry about it. But at the advent of the rainy season everything is blissfully forgotten and preserved to be raked up again in the next summer and this high drama have had become a regular phenomena, Debasish commented.
