Testing of the pipe-laying work begins
Jamshedpur: The Mango Water Project has gathered momentum and is expected to start water supply by November end.
This has raised hopes of the residents of Mango who are eying for a save summer season this year. Jusco has started testing the pipe-laying work that has been carried out by the utility company and very soon the residents of parched Mango will get rid of the drinking water problem which was a perennial problem since a long time.
The department of drinking water and sanitation (DDW&S) is hoping to get the project inaugurated by this month end. Sushil Kumar, special officer, Mango Notified Area Commitee (MNAC) informed that the DDW&S has fixed November 30 date for the launch of the ambitious water supply project.
“The work of pipe-laying from the water-filteration plant to the water-towers is complete and is now in the testing period, and first phase of pipe-laying work to the house-holds is also almost complete, the DDW&S has decided to get the mega project inaugurated on No- vember 30,” said Kumar Giving an account of the water consumers, the special officer said that when the mega water project will start the total number of water consumer will be 10,000.
A senior Jusco official engaged in the Mango water project said that though the utility company has almost completed the main pipe-laying work beside the water treatment plant and water towers, the work of the pipe-laying to the household, which has to be carried out by the MNAC is going on very slow.
The water shortage prob- lem is so severe that if temperature soars further several areas might not receive water at all. The impact of summer has hit early this year.
The ground water level at various places has gone down considerably due to the mushrooming high-rises. Moreover due to the rising temperature the water level of two important rivers Swarnarekha and Kharkai has decreased substantially.
The Mango drink water project, which has crossed seven scorching summers with the promise of quenching the thirst of more than 3 lakh residents, looks to miss yet another deadline.
The Mango project – aiming to supply 48 million litres per day – started in 2005 as a public-private partnership between state drinking water and sanitation department and Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco.
At present, against a demand for over six million litres of water a day, three lakh Mango residents receive less than a third, that is, less than two million litres.
The Rs 64.18 crore ambi-tious drinking water project, as per affidavit filed by East Singhbhum district administration before Jharkhand High Court in December last year, was to commence from March 31, 2013.
The project was mentioned in the 2005-06 budget with an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore. The foundation stone was laid by then Governor K Shankarnarayan in 2009.
Its earlier scheduled deadline was August 2011.New pipelines have been laid along a stretch of nearly 148km in Mango and will see distribution from the six water towers at Sankosai, Gandhi Maidan, Old Purulia Road, Pardih (near Big Bazaar), MGM Medical College and Jawaharnagar.