KOLKATA: The steep increase in temperatures across West Bengal over the past few days has led to an acute crisis in drinking water supply, right from western districts like Bankura and Purulia to the lower reaches of the Darjeeling hills.
Chief Secretary H. K. Dwivedi recently held a virtual meeting with all the district magistrates and asked them to ensure that all ongoing drinking water projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission across the state were completed as soon as possible.
In western districts of the state, the mercury soared to 44.1 degree Celsius – the highest in the state – over a period of past one week. The water level of rivers like Damodar and Kansabati has been going down because of the scorching heat. In north Bengal, there is a similar problem. The lower parts of Kurseong sub-division recorded temperatures around 35 degree Celsius. Most of the hilly streams have dried up and the people are constrained to either buy drinking water or walk for kilometres to collect it from other sources.
Sources in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department said the drinking water crisis was acute in Bankura, Purulia, Jhargram and West Burdwan districts. The PHE has engaged around 400 tankers to supply water in affected areas in view of the situation.
The temperature has been soaring in West Bengal over the past one week. The mercury level crossed 40 degrees in 12 districts amid a forecast of the heatwave continuing in the next few days.
PHE minister Pulak Roy has said that areas suffering from drinking water crisis in different districts had been identified. “We are sending tankers to identified locations to ensure the supply of drinking water. Additional pump sets are being arranged to manage the crisis on a temporary basis,” he said.
A source in the PHE department said that at least two blocks in Bankura district, Saltora and Chhatna, are without drinking water as three out of four pumps, which draw water from the Damodar River, are not functional because of the decreased water level in the river.
Unlike previous years, north Bengal, too, is facing a similar problem. “Most hilly streams from where we collect water have dried up. We have to either buy water or walk at least six to seven kilometres along the hilly tracks to collect water,” said a resident of Tindharia, around 30 km from Siliguri, the headquarters of north Bengal.
Mercury soars to 44.1 C in western districts
In western districts of the state, the mercury soared to 44.1 degree Celsius – the highest in the state – over a period of past one week. The water level of rivers like Damodar and Kansabati has been going down because of the scorching heat. In North Bengal, there is a similar problem that people are facing. The lower parts of the Kurseong sub-division recorded temperatures around 35 degree Celsius. Most of the hilly streams have dried up.