Water crisis hits Assam town, over 500 households go without water for over 50 days

As per reports, the residents of Lower Moulhoi in Haflong, which has over 500 houses, are the worst sufferers as the village is still deprived of a PHE water connection

By Swadeep Hasamsa

Water crisis has hit Assam’s hill town, Halflong. The town has been reeling under an acute water crisis for the past few months.

Residents of Boildura, Lower Haflong, Topodisa, New Kunjung, Kalibari, Hagjer Nagar, and the Market area have not received water supply for over the last 50 days.

Earlier too, the region experienced irregularities in water supply, but this is the longest period of disruption the town has undergone.

As per reports, the residents of Lower Moulhoi in Haflong, which has over 500 houses, are the worst sufferers as the village is still deprived of a PHE water connection.

There is a small spring in the area; however, the villagers had set limits for fetching water, which is 20 litres per house, so that every house gets adequate drinking water. The Village Defence Party (VDP) is also making sure that every household gets equal shares.

The villagers have accused the concerned authorities of not repairing the damaged gravity line in the area despite several complaints, which the locals feel could somewhat relieve the water scarcity.

Villagers said that they have to queue up from 3 am to fetch drinking water since they cannot rely on private water suppliers as they have to pre-order a week before the delivery and have to go to work during the day.

The private water suppliers charge Rs. 1000–1200 per 2000 litres depending on demand; however, the private supplier could make 2-4 trips in a day due to the water scarcity in various water sources and the increase of private water suppliers.

Public Health Engineering (PHE) Haflong Division executive engineer S. Nath said that the populace of the town requires 22 lakh litres of water per day, but as water sources dry up during the season and due to some technical issues, the PHE could only pump 6.7 lakh litres at the water treatment plant in the town.

Nath also informed that PHE tankers are put into service to supply in emergency situations. He added that the department has proposed a new water pumping project from the Dihamlai River, which will mitigate water scarcity in the dry season.

Locals residing near the Haflong lake area said that they could hardly afford private water supply due to high rates. They said that earlier they could fetch water from the lake for usage but it also dried up at times for beautification purposes.

Looking at the present scenario, Assam’s Dima Hasao district might experience adverse water scarcity in the near future.

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