GUWAHATI: Water scarcity remains a major issue for the residents of Guwahati. The water scarcity problem becomes worse during the winters; residents of various areas of the city like the RG Baruah Road (commonly known as Zoo Road) and Christian Basti have to depend entirely on private water suppliers to fulfill their daily water requirements.
The water supply connection in Guwahati is limited to just a few areas. The city has grown exponentially and the civic agencies have failed to meet the ever rising demand of water.
On Wednesday, Guwahati Development Department Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya admitted in the Assam Legislative Assembly that the Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted (JICA) water supply project which was supposed to be partially commissioned by the end of January has been delayed. The project was started in 2009.
According to Bhattacharya, 60 percent work of the water supply project has been done and is expected to be to be fully completed by July 2022. Answering to a question Bhattacharya claimed that the work of South-West Guwahati Water Supply project is going on in full swing.
The government has finally swung into action against contractors who have repeatedly failed to meet the deadlines in the city’s vital water supply project. Due to non-performance, the original contractor IVRCL has already been terminated from further engagement in this multi-crore project.
Siddhartha Bhattacharya also said that the government will definitely finish the proposed water project by 2022. He also added that the work has been allotted to a new contractor.
On the other hand, 96 percent of another water supply project assisted by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has been completed said the Minister.
