Safe drinking water supply resumes in Siliguri

Sanchita Aich Bag, MP, 2 June 2024, Siliguri: Finally after five days, citizens of Siliguri were supplied with safe drinking water by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation from Sunday evening with water pumped from the Teesta River. Gautam Deb, Mayor of Siliguri in a Press conference on Sunday, announced: “The Public Health department (PHE) has given approval for drinking the water supplied by the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) from the Teesta River. 

As per our commitment, we started supplying purified drinking water from Teesta from Sunday evening, after getting approval from
the PHE department. I apologise for the inconvenience that people had to face during these days. 

I thank our Chief Minister, who was constantly in touch with me.”

On May 29, the Mayor had appealed to citizens not to drink the water supplied by SMC till June 2 as the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the water of Mahananda River has increased, which could cause illness. Sabita Sarkar, a resident of Ward 35, said: “I was buying packaged drinking water. 

, on Sunday evening we received purified water again like before at around 6:30 pm. The Mayor announced that we could drink the water from Sunday.” 

Owing to the flash floods in Teesta River, the Teesta Dam at Gajoldoba in Jalpaiguri was damaged resulting in heavy siltation thus pumping of water from Teesta had to be stopped.

Instead, they started pumping water from the Mahananda River and supplied it to every ward for drinking purposes. While testing the water, PHE had found that the amount of BOD had increased in the Mahananda River’s water. 

The usual amount should be 1-2 Portable Parallel Analysis (PPA) whereas it was 2.9 PPA. Earlier, Deb informed that work on repairs of the Teesta Dam would be over by June 1 and purified water from the Teesta River would be supplied from the evening of June 2. 

The Irrigation department released water from Teesta River to Fulbari Canal on Saturday. The water was then purified and sent to wards. 

The Mayor also said that cleaning work of Fuleswari, Jorapani, Panchanai rivers has started. 

Rs 10 crores has been sanctioned for this. People of Siliguri heaved a sigh of relief with the normalising of safe drinking water supply. Courtesy & source- Millennium Post 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/safe-drinking-water-supply-resumes-in-siliguri-566268