An Adityapur-based NGO supported by local residents has demanded for shifting of office premises of Drinking Water and Sanitation Department (DW&SD) from Adityapur in Seraikela-Kharsawan district to Jamshedpur in the East Singhbhum district immediately.

The NGO, Jan Kalyan Morcha (JKM) has raised the issue of DW&SD's office premises removal from Adityapur to Jamshedpur or else where in the East Singhbhum district because existence of the said department in Adityapur meaningless following the civic body, Adityapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) now looks after the drinking water supply affair entirely.

Highlighting the need for shifting the DW&SD's office premises from Adityapur, the JKM's president Om Prakash has on Tuesday sent a petition to the chief secretary, Jharkhand, Sukhdev Singh.

In the petition, Om Prakash has said whereas the AMC is carrying out drinking water supply to the households in Adityapur and adjoining Gamharia, there is no need of keeping the office premises and staff quarters for the DW&SD which does work for urban and rural areas of the East Singhbhum district only.

"The office premises of the DW&SD (earlier known as Public Health &Engineering Department - PHED) and the staff quarters is spread over an area of 8.5 acres of land in prime location. While the DW&SD has no work in Adityapur after AMC took over the drinking water supply activities, then why should the department's establishment be there in Adityapur which is facing land crunch," the JKM president has quipped in the petition.

He has demanded that while the DW&SD is serving the purpose of drinking water supply in the East Singhbhum district only the department's office premises and the staff quarters should be immediately shifted to the neighbouring district.

Located near the Adityapur thana, the DW&SD office premises is comprised of department's superintending engineer office, divisional office, Jamshedpur, and East Singhbhum rural office. Beside these offices is located PW&ED Colony where the staff of the DW&SD stay.

"We had to take a stand against the existence of the DW&SA office is in Adityapur after the AMC decided to set up a new building complex for the civic body on a popular play ground recently. We want that the 8.5 acres land on which the DW&S office premises is located be vacated and the AMC may set up its new building on the that land instead of trying to grab a play ground, " said the JKM while talking to The Telegraph Online.