Water prices continue to increase in Guwahati city as crisis deepens

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Guwahati has been suffering from a tremendous water crisis in recent times, and the government’s inability to create a dependable water supply project in the city has aggravated the problem further. Unscrupulous businesses have exploited this chance to increase the price of water tankers on a regular basis. 

Multiple localities of the city, especially those surrounding the GS Road, including Christian Basti, Rupnagar, Bhangagar, Birubari, Jatia, Kahilipara, and Hengrabari, have seen a drastic drop in groundwater levels, forcing the residents to depend on businesses supplying water via tempos or minivans. These sellers have priced the supply of water at Rs 300–350 for 750 litres and Rs 600–700 for 1500 litres. This puts an additional burden of Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 monthly per household. 

A large number of localities in the city do not have a water supply connection even today. Even those who have the connection do not receive water on a regular and timely basis, hence making it just a secondary source of water as they are forced to buy water from other sources. The project, which was initiated 12 years ago as Phase 1 of the Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Programme funded by the Asian Development Bank, remains to be functional even in 2024. 

Infrastructure Investment Programme (AUIIP) Phase-I included the South East Guwahati Water Supply Project, the Dibrugarh Town Protection Drainage System and Solid Waste Management System at Dibrugarh. The components under the South East Guwahati Water Supply Project include the construction of storage reservoirs of various capacities at three locations, namely Gopal Nagar, Kenduguri, and North Jyoti Nagar, as well as the construction of transmission water supply pipelines and allied works at Guwahati. 

The notice to proceed with these projects was issued on May 30, 2013 and June 4, 2014, respectively, and the work has been completed. The remaining work of the South East Guwahati Water Supply Project is to be implemented with external funding from the New Development Bank. These include the barge-mounted raw water intake system, the raw water raising main, the water treatment plant, three hilltop storage reservoirs, and the distribution network. 

“At a time when the state and central governments continue to advertise the Jal Jeevan mission with free potable water supply to every household, so-called representatives from JICA continue to mention that water supply can be created only when a minimum of 50 households register for a connection and then demand around Rs 9000 per household for registration for the connection, and an additional fee is charged for the amount of water used. With one of the major rivers of the country passing through the city, it remains to be seen when the state, as well as local administration, finally realise the need for a comprehensive water supply project for the city, not only for the wellbeing of citizens but also to preserve the remaining groundwater,“ said a local resident.

Also Read: Water supply to be interrupted in Guwahati city (sentinelassam.com)

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