People urged not to panic
Water availability to last upto May 1st week
THE DAILY TELEGRAMS, Feb 7, 2007
Port Blair, Feb 6
There is sufficient water to cater to the drinking water needs of the
people here upto May 1st week even if the current water supply system is
maintained. No further curtailment of water will be done and there is no
reason to panic in regard to the availability of water, said the Deputy
Commissioner, South Andaman, Shri KS Singh, while addressing a press
conference in the conference hall of the District Office which was called to
brief the scribes about the immediate steps taken to maintain the water
supply to the people of the city and in suburb areas.
Talking to media persons, the Deputy Commissioner said that the water
supply from the Dhanikari dam, the main water source, has been curtailed
from 58 lakh gallon in normal days to 41 lakh gallon at present to make
availability of potable water covering the summer period upto May 1st week.
However, the general public should not pay heed to the reported rumors being
spread that the city is going to face dry spells from March onwards, he
added. The Chairperson PBMC, Shri Sher Singh and the Chief Engineer APWD Dr.
N Ravi were also present on the occasion.
The Deputy Commissioner further informed that as per the instructions of
the Lt. Governor, the Disaster Management Control Room in the District
Office, South Andaman has also started functioning as Helpline for 24 hours
for water-related issues wherein any person desirous of giving any
information or seeking any assistance on water related issues can contact
District Control Room on telephone numbers viz. 238881 and 231945. The
Chairperson PBMC will ensure the supply of water through tankers in
municipal area if any, demand is received while the Chief Engineer, APWD
will do the same in the event of the places outside the municipalty, the
Deputy Commissioner added.
About the short term plans for the augmentation of water supply, the
Deputy Commissioner said that wells having perennial sources are being
restored and facilities like platform and water discharge outlets are being
created. In Port Blair tehsil, 113 wells are in use while efforts are on to
restore the other existing wells. In Ferrargunj Tehsil out of the 313 wells,
251 are in use while the remaining 62 will be restored by Feb 28 with the
technical support of the APWD. Restoration of ponds are also being taken up
in both the tehsils and desilting of ponds will be carried out in such a
manner that the existing water is not spoiled further as it enhances the
storage capacity during the rainy seasons, the DC added.
The Deputy Commissioner, who underlined the need for conservation of
water and its judicious use also urged for minimizing the use of treated
water for non- potable purposes. He was of the opinion that the bigger
establishments should establish their own wells to meet their non- potable
purposes. The DC also gave the example of GB Pant hospital which has
developed a well, the water of which is being utilized for non-potable
purpose i.e in bathrooms and toilets.
Answering queries, the DC informed that water barges are being pressed
into service to bring water from Rutland. During his course of interaction
with the media persons, the DC also informed about the medium and long term
measures being taken by the Administration to solve the drinking water
problem in these Islands once for all.