Residents of all 47 wards of Siliguri faced a water crisis again on Tuesday as the municipal corporation halted the supply because of silt deposit at the treatment plant.
The water supply had been disrupted for two days last week as maintenance works were carried out at the plant by the state PHE department. The plant is located in Fulbari, on the outskirts of Siliguri.
Every day, it supplies around 50 million litres of water, which is much less than the daily demand of around 80 million litres.
“The supply was affected because of silt deposition in the intake well of the plant yesterday evening. Engineers of the PHE department started clearing the silt. We hope the supply will become normal tomorrow (Wednesday),” said Dulal Datta, the member mayor-in-council (water supply) of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.
Water is drawn to the plant from the main canal of the Teesta. The canal starts from the right bank of the river at Gajoldoba, which is around 25km from here, in Jalpaiguri district.
Sources at the civic body pointed out that the Teesta’s water level dropped during the winter. Besides, hydel power projects upstream the river restrict the water flow.
“To ensure an uninterrupted supply of water through the intake well, the water level at the canal should remain at a certain height. If the level drops, as it happened yesterday, silt starts pouring in and disrupts the water supply,” said a source.
Amit Jain, a BJP councillor and the leader of the Opposition at the SMC, said it was disappointing that the authorities didn’t even bother to inform the residents in advance about disruptions in the water supply.
Trinamul councillors said all efforts were being made to restore the supply.