Residents of Karimganj town in Assam’s Barak Valley have expressed concern over the shortage in drinking water supply, which the public health engineering (PHE) department said was caused by the shortage of water-purifying chemicals.

Rita Deb, a resident, alleged that they did not get sufficient water despite paying water tax on time. The urban areas of the town are totally dependent on water supply as they have no other alternative. She alleged that they faced extreme difficulty during Durga Puja owing to irregular supply of water.

PHE official Vivekananda Mahanta said the department requires 25 tonnes of alum, 13 tonnes of lime and four tonnes of bleaching powder every month to purify water. He said they have not been getting the purifying chemicals since September and are temporarily managing water supply in the urban areas of Karimganj from Hailakandi and Cachar districts. He said the department supplies water only once a day in Karimganj and that too only 45 litres water of the total 90 litres requirement daily in the urban areas. He said water supply may have to be stopped permanently if the shortage of purifying chemicals continues.

North Karimganj legislator Kamalakshya Dey Purkayastha had met PHE minister Rihon Daimary and chief engineer N. Das on Thursday and requested them to intervene.

Purkayastha said the water supply was mostly dependent on Karimganj Municipal Board as they manage the supply of chemicals to the PHE department. He claimed that the department has not received any funds or chemicals from the civic office since September. The municipal board collects water tax from the residents of urban areas.

Purkayastha said he has requested top PHE officials to take necessary steps to continue uninterrupted supply of water twice a day in Karimganj.

The municipal authorities are tight-lipped over the shortage of water supply. A senior official said they are looking into the matter.