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2 GMC water reservoirs in dilapidated condition

By City Correspondent

GUWAHATI, April 28 - Two water reservoirs of the Satpukhuri water plant at Nijarapar in Chandmari area are in a dilapidated condition and require urgent repair.

There are several cracks on the walls and a part of the tin roof of one reservoir and the concrete roof of another reservoir have fallen off, resulting in huge gaps.

A local resident of the area said he had informed the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) several times about the urgent need to repair the reservoirs, but no action has been initiated yet.

�Repair work was carried out four years ago. But now the tin roof has been badly damaged. The officials came here and inspected the situation, but we did not see any kind of constructive work in the last four years. The reservoir covered with a tin roof is in poor shape,� he added.

�Plastic waste and tree leaves were also found in the reservoir with a tin roof. The water is not usable at all. But there are no other options left with us but to use the water from it,� another resident said. The water works wing of GMC caters to the water requirements in the city.

Sources in the GMC said less than 30 per cent of the over 15 lakh population in the city receive piped drinking water.

GMC has three water treatment plants at Panbazar, Satpukhuri and Kamakhya. Water is pumped from the Brahmaputra to these plants and after processing, the plant water is pumped to different reservoirs located at hill tops and then distributed to the consumers by �gravity main�. Installed capacity of the Satpukhuri treatment plant is 22.50 MLD and its present running capacity is around 15 MLD.

Moreover, some areas in the city receive water through direct pumping. Besides these plants, there are nine deep tubewells in different locations of the city.

When contacted, GMC Superintending Engineer Manoranjan Bharali said that a tender was floated in connection with repair of the two water reservoirs at Nijarapar in March, but the contractor abandoned the work because of the emergency situation arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. �The recent storm caused severe damage to the tin-roof reservoir. But we have been assessing the damage and will repair these two reservoirs this week,� Bharali said.

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