Siliguri mayor confined for water supply hitch

TT, Siliguri, Sept. 12: The municipal corporation resumed water delivery this morning after the repair of a pipeline, but most of the areas in Siliguri were dry for the fifth consecutive day as the supply chain was yet to function in a full-fledged manner.

The political battle continued today also with Trinamul councillors and supporters confining mayor Asok Bhattacharya to his car for over two hours to protest the halt in the water supply as he reached the office of the Siliguri Municipal Corporation.

Water supply to around seven lakh people in Siliguri has been affected since September 8 because of shifting of pipes for the construction of Asian Highway II and a subsequent breach in one of the ducts. Although pipes along the road that was being widened for the Asian Highway II had been shifted further and water supply resumed by Saturday evening, a breach in one of the ducts hit the supply again.

The PHE department of the state government repaired the pipe last night and the supply was restored this morning. Still, water was not flowing to taps properly.

Asked about the hitch, an official of the PHE department said: "As the supply had been halted for a few days, air gushed into empty pipes because people would consistently turn taps on. So, it would take some time for pipes to clear air and get desired pressure for the easy flow of water."

Saradindu Chakraborty, the member, mayor-in-council (water supply) of the SMC, said: "Today, water was supplied directly from the main pipeline and not through reservoirs. If we had filled the reservoirs and then distributed water, it would have taken more time as the tanks had dried up. That is one of the reasons for pressure being low in pipes. By tomorrow, water supply would be normal," he said.

Siliguri witnessed several demonstrations by Trinamul and the Left Front on the water crisis today.

It all started with a protest by Trinamul leaders and supporters, who assembled in front of the SMC office around 10am. The 100-odd demonstrators led by Trinamul councillors were carrying empty buckets, bottles and placards. When the mayor arrived around 11am, they shouted slogans, demanding his resignation.

Bhattacharya alighted from his car, stood for sometime and again got into the vehicle which remained parked on the road, with Trinamul supporters encircling it. There was a posse of policemen . Traffic was affected on the road in front of the SMC office because of the demonstration.

Around 12.30pm, Nantu Paul, the leader of opposition at the SMC and Krishna Pal, another Trinamul councillor, passed on a message to the Left Front councillors that they were ready for a discussion on the issue. "We will not speak to the mayor and Saradindu Chakraborty (the MMIC)," Paul said.

As the demonstration continued, deputy mayor Rambhajan Mahato and two MMICs, Mukul Sengupta and Nurul Islam, held a discussion with the Trinamul councillors in the conference hall of the SMC. The mayor was still seated in the car outside, amid the demonstrators.

At the meeting, the deputy mayor assured the Trinamul councillors that water supply would resume by this evening and it would be normal from tomorrow. Around 1pm, Mahato came out of the SMC building, along with the Trinamul councillors, and announced through public address system that the supply would be normal tomorrow.

Krishna Pal appealed to the protesters to disperse and the mayor could enter the SMC office around 1.15pm.

Supporters of the SFI and DYFI raised a blockade at Hashmi Chowk around 12.45pm to condemn the confinement of Bhattacharya. They withdrew the blockade as the Trinamul supporters left and let the mayor go inside the SMC office.

Later, around 5pm, the Darjeeling district Left Front held another rally to protest the mayor's gherao.

After entering the SMC office, Bhattacharya said the Trinamul councillors and supporters were frustrated following their frequent debacles in polls in Siliguri.

He said on September 2, the SMC had received a letter from the PHE department, saying two days were needed for shifting the principal pipeline near Fulbari because of the Asian Highway project.

"Immediately, we took all necessary steps and informed all persons concerned, including the Trinamul councillors. The work was done on time but because of a sudden burst in a portion of the pipeline on Saturday, water supply could not be resumed until today," the mayor said.

"I don't want to politicise the issue as we have seen how sincerely the engineers of the PHE worked round-the-clock and we thank them for restoring water supply in the town. But the manner in which they (Trinamul) behaved today is to be condemned," he added.

Nantu Paul, however, said the mayor was running the civic board in an autocratic manner and ignoring the opposition. "After receiving the letter from the PHE, he could have informed us. We want tourism minister Gautam Deb to convene an all-party meeting in the presence of minister Rabindranath Ghosh, along with councillors of the SMC, to resolve the irregularities in water supply," he said.