Kalimpong water hope

Rajeev Ravidas, TT, Kalimpong, Sept. 28: Water supply to Kalimpong is expected to resume in a couple of days with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha purportedly extracting an assurance from people of Mirik village that they will allow the PHE department to restart the pumping.

Kalimpong hasn't been getting water since September 22 after residents of Mirik, a small hamlet about 22km from here, forced the PHE department under the GTA to stop pumping water from the Neora Khola Water Supply Scheme.

Under the scheme, water is sourced from Neora Khola and Thukchuk Khola and pumped to reservoirs at Deolo, about 5km from here. Then, water is supplied to Kalimpong.

A 20m-long pipe made of metal had been washed away by landslides at Mirik in June and the PHE authorities joined the two severed ends with plastic pipes as a temporary measure.

However, the villagers alleged that the plastic pipes leak constantly and could trigger landslides, threatening their homes and fields. "We want the damaged pipelines to be repaired properly so that no leak occurs," said Dal Bahadur Subba, a villager.

A Morcha team led by Norden Lama, the Kalimpong branch president of the party, met the villagers and assured them that their concerns would be addressed. "We told the villagers that metalled pipes would be used to replace the damaged portion and jhoraprotection work would also be initiated. Then, the villagers agreed to allow the authorities to resume the pumping. Kalimpong should start getting water in the next couple of days."<>

Kalimpong requires about 10 lakh gallons of water every day and half of the need is met by the Neora Khola scheme. About 7,500 households receive water for about 30 minutes every second or third day, depending on the availability of water. The remaining 50 per cent of the 1 lakh-odd residents of Kalimpong and adjoining villages depend on natural springs and streams to meet their water needs.