Erratic and non-supply of drinking water to residents of the port town here has caused a crisis with residents alleging that over the last 20 days the concerned authorities have been taking the plea of ‘ongoing maintenance work’.
With every passing day, drinking water scarcity is more acute in, the thickly populated residential colonies in Nua Bazaar, Bada Padia, Nehru Bungalow and Ghanagholia.
The situation is worse in the 26 slum settlements . The existing water supply system being managed by Paradip Port Trust is inadequate with the demand keeping in view massive spurt in population along the township’s suburbs.
Major areas in the port town and its peripheral slum areas are reeling under severe drinking water crisis. The Paradip Port Trust has 2,600 employees and the population in the port town area is over 85,000.
PPT is catering the drinking water to the whole populace, but also to the international ships. There are three water reservoirs in Paradip port which are equipped to store three million gallons of water.
But the required drinking water demand in the township and slum pockets have now gone up to five million gallons a day.The water treatment plant of 6-MGD suffers due to lack of maintenance.
Digging of siltation and repairing work is going at Jobra of Cuttack so supply of water of Mahanadi has been severely stopped through Taladanda canal causing acute shortage of water in the said canal.
Similarly, the depth of three reservoirs which had constructed in 1963 was 15 meter which had carried adequate water to mitigate the drinking water problem of Paradip port.
Meanwhile, the capacity of these reservoirs have reduced due to siltation. Executive Engineer, Mahanadi South Division, Cuttack Mr Baleswernath Sahoo said ‘as per the requirement of PPT, irrigation department has been supplied 250 cusec water through Taladadanda canal.
The water which has been supplied by irrigation department to PPT has been obstructed for construction of bridge being done by Paradip Municipality as result sufficient water does not reach the reservoirs.
The demand of PPT to supply more water to mitigate drinking water crisis would not be possible because excess supply of water through Taladananda canal will affect the green gram cultivation of farmers of Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapda and Cuttack districts, he informed.
Earlier, executive engineer, PHED division Mr Binayak Pradhan had said some major repair works to pipe line of the water supply net working in the port township has been taken up from 1 March. In view of the repair work the supply has been curtailed to once a day instead of twice.