An unusual drinking water crisis has emerged in large parts of South 24-Parganas as gallons of potable or drinking water are being siphoned off illegally to fill ponds and waterbodies for fisheries.

This misuse has significantly impacted the doorstep water supply in several areas, prompting urgent intervention by authorities.

During a recent crackdown on unauthorised water pipeline connections, the public health engineering (PHE) department in Budge Budge blocks uncovered rampant misuse of drinking water by pond and fishery owners. These individuals had been illegally tapping into main supply lines to divert large quantities of water, exacerbating drinking water supply crisis in nearby localities.

A senior engineer from the PHE’s South 24 Parganas division admitted: “We were unaware of the sheer scale of this misuse until now.”

After identifying such illegal tapping last week, the special task force of the PHE department, supported by the local administration and police, had so far disconnected at least 50 hidden underground supply lines to ponds being used for pisciculture.

Executive engineer of PHE’s South-24 Parganas division, Sagar Bandopadhyay, said: “We have been carrying out raids regularly. Alarmingly, we found several ponds being filled up with drinking water which are being used as fisheries. This was
quite unimaginable.”

On Saturday, Chinsurah’s Trinamul MLA Asit Mazumdar, during his visit to Naldanga-Narayanpur village under Kodalia-2 gram panchayat, saw PHE drinking water being misused in large quantities for running fisheries.

Acting on complaints from the local residents about water scarcity, the MLA visited a fishery owned by one Pintu Roy and found evidence of illegal water withdrawal. He sternly warned Roy to stop the practice immediately.

“Don’t cross the line. Otherwise, an FIR will be filed, and you will find yourself behind bars,” the MLA reportedly told Pintu.

According to PHE sources, around 450 complaints of water theft have been registered so far, leading to 31 FIRs.

PHE minister Pulak Roy urged citizens to report such incidents directly through a designated WhatsApp number. However, the misuse of drinking water continues unabated.

However, PHE officials apparently had little idea of the large scale of “theft” of water until chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a crackdown with door-to-door surveys to identify illegal supply.

In many places, however, PHE officials and their survey team are facing the wrath of the “unauthorised beneficiaries” of water theft.

“The task of identification and disconnection of illegal tapping has become life-threatening since several illegal users have strong political connections and try to intimidate us. They say that if they suffer any loss in their business due to the absence of water, they will not spare us,” a PHE official said.

Stopping of “free” water supply is a difficult job, said a PHE source.

“Last Wednesday, a task force went to disconnect an illegal tapping to a pond owned by one Ganesh Chandra Mondal in Moukhali-Uttarpara village of Rajibpur gram panchayat in Budge Budge. Mondal had been withdrawing drinking water for his 1 bigha pond to keep fish alive by making an illegal tapping point with the support of some local plumbers. Things got so bad that police had to intervene,” said the source.

One such pond owner who used drinking water claimed to avoid high salinity in local water, he for long used PHE water.

The state public health engineering minister Roy on Wednesday stated that his department has found nearly 20,000 cases of water tapping from the main supply lines of the PHE across the state.

The PHE has so far lodged 467 complaints with the police for the “misuse” of water.

However, no one has been arrested so far.

The initiative, a pan-Bengal survey and crackdown on the illegal water pipeline was taken last month when chief minister Mamata Banerjeree pulled up the PHE department after complaints over water supply poured in from several corners of the state. The issue came to light during a review of the Centre-state Jal Jeevan Mission, where much work remains incomplete. Mamata asked for a thorough inspection across the state, which prompted the PHE to undertake a door to door survey, particularly in suspected areas where flow of water is very weak.

Sources in the PHE said that the highest numbers of complaints received were from East Midnapore (3,890) followed by South 24 Parganas (3,879).