Kalimpong in grip of water scarcity

YOWAN MOTHAY, EOI, KALIMPONG, MARCH 12, 2023  :  Sariti Tamang gets up at 4 o'clock in the morning and waits in the queue for hours for water. When it is her turn, she draws water from the stream and returns home every day family gets water for cooking and drinking. 

Not only Sariti Tamang but many other families in Kalimpong seem to spend hours on the water queue every day. 

There is a drinking water crisis everywhere in Kalimpong city or in the villages of Kalimpong district. People wonder when Kalimpong will get rid of the water problem. Even school children have to spend more time carrying water at home than studying. 

Taking advantage of the water shortage, a water mafia has become active. There is illegal tapping of the inadequate supply of water by the Public Health Engineering Department from the mainline to the city. 

Poor people stand in the water queue for hours, while the rich people are forced to purchase water which is an expensive commodity between January and May. 

There is scarcity of water in the rural areas as well. Many water sources have been privatized by landowners barricading them and preventing people from approaching them. 

Land owners collect a monthly fee for connecting residences with supply of water. 

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration PHE Sabhasad C. B.Gurung says the water problem of Kalimpong will be solved now, with help from the Neora water supply project. 

According to Gurung, to solve the water problem of Kalimpong, a number of meetings between PHE and Neora officials have been held and steps have been planned. The execution of the work has also started. 

He says the water problem in Kalimpong has been a result of lack of water in the spring and illegal tapping. Those involved in illegal tapping has been called upon to legalize the illegal pipelines. Besides, the leakages are also being arrested to prevent the waste of water. 

The water source from Thukchuk has already been boosted from another source and the work of tapping small sources has also started. There is a lack of water in the source itself due to the scarcity of rain.