Inadequate storage, distribution reasons behind Darjeeling's water problem

Swareena Gurung, EOI, Darjeeling, 3 Jun 2016: The advent of the monsoons may have led to a surplus of water supply in Darjeeling, but the needs of private and commercial establishments are still not being met.

According to Amar Rai, the Darjeeling Municipality chairman, the problem of water scarcity in Darjeeling has to do more with inadequate storage and distribution methods than with the actual paucity of supply. The water requirement of Darjeeling is primarily fed by two lakes in Sinchel, constructed during the British era. The other source is the Sindhap Lake which gets its supply from Bangla Khola. Meanwhile, the water collected at Rambi is supplied solely to the army cantonment at Jalpahar.

At present, the population of Darjeeling is about 1.25 lakh, while at the time of the construction of the Sinchel lakes, the population stood at just 10,000. Moreover, since Darjeeling is a favoured tourist destination, the pressure on its water sources is at its maximum. Further, the smooth distribution of water is also disrupted by people who break pipelines and  manipulate the conduit lines to store water for selling. Many such elements have been arrested and cases slapped against them, but the threat persists. According to Rai, the water crisis of Darjeeling can be solved if surplus supplies during the monsoons are properly stored.

At present, the surplus water simply gets wasted. He said: “We plan to approach the government for land in Sinchel to construct a fourth lake, and also at Tiger Hill, where we can pump and store water for the dry spell. Some years ago, the government started the Balasun Project to boost supply. The project, which has been completed, pumps water from the Balasun river to our two supply lakes. During this year's dry spell, we weren’t as badly hit as Kalimpong and Kurseong as water from the Balasun was pumped daily for 14-15 hours.

"Unfortunately, the inefficient distribution system the town has inherited has gone worse. While some areas receive water 24 hours a day, others have to buy the commodity from private sources. Hotels, which have higher requirements, have to purchase water as the municipality cannot supply them throughout the day. There are some vulnerable areas where the municipality hasn’t been able to take water lines. Some areas such as Nahiti and Giridhara depend upon perennial sources for their supplies.”The government has also sanctioned a new project, the biggest one for the Darjeeling Municipality so far. With regard to distribution, the project aims at doing away with erratic supplies prevalent at present.

A sum of Rs 205 crore will be sanctioned in instalments for this three-year project that will be completed phase-wise. Each of the 32 wards under the Darjeeling Municipality will get their own tanks. Hopefully, the remodelling of the distribution system will bring about better days for Darjeeling in terms of water supply.