Siliguri mayor Goutam Deb resumed his people outreach programme (manusher kache chalo) today when the people in corporation area are facing acute drinking water crisis due to emergency anti-erosion works on the bank of Teesta and other issues of Teesta Barrage Project.
After visiting the sites of Teesta Barrage area at Gajoldoba to oversee the ongoing emergency works to protect guide bandh, which was washed away due to flash floods in Sikkim and the Mahananda Barrage, an ongoing alternative permanent intake point project for lifting raw water for drinking water treatment plant at Fulbari in Jalpaiguri, mayor Goutam Deb decided to reach out to the people from Ward 42, this afternoon.
Mr Deb physically met the people and informed them about the reason behind the present crisis of drinking water supply and alternative arrangements for providing drinking water.
According to Mr Deb, after flash floods in Sikkim, the Teesta river has changed its course, after damaging an embankment, affecting some villages at Gajoldoba.
With the permission from Election Commission of India, the Teesta Barrage Project authorities have taken up the bank protection work before monsoon.
As a result, the Teesta Barrage Project authorities have stopped supplying required raw water for drinking treatment plants at Fulbari, which has been providing drinking water in the corporation area, North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and a part of rural areas.
The public health engineering department has restricted the supply of drinking water owing to a lack of required flow of raw water from the Teesta Barrage.
Mr Deb has decided to visit SMC wards to keep monitoring alternative arrangements for drinking water supply during the crisis period.
Sources said at least two weeks are required to bring back the normal supply of drinking water from Fulbari water treatment plant.