Water scarcity hits Mizoram

Aizawl, May 3 (UNI) With monsoon arriving late in Mizoram, an acute water crisis has affected life of people here, with many areas receiving supply water once in a fortnight.

The state capital is also one of the worst affected places since only one single source of supply caters to about five lakh people.

The original Aizawl Greater Water Supply Scheme, which had envisaged supply of drinking water only to about 80,000, now needs to supply water to nearly four times the original estimate.

Adding to the woes, government contractors constructing buildings in the region were supplied huge quantity of water while people are not getting enough water even for the preparation of a simple evening meal.

According to the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP), the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has been supplying drinking water regularly to the contractor of the Millennium Centre, Larsen and Toubro, for use in the construction.

In a statement issued here today, ZNP said a total of 68.66 lakh gallons of drinking water had been supplied to this company for the purpose of construction during April 2005 to March 2006. This year alone, between January and March, nearly 7.40 lakh gallons of drinking water have been supplied to them.

According to PHE department officials, the set which pumped more than 2 lakh litres per day when it was installed, can now only pump 80,000 litres per day. As a result, consumers, who go received water once a week, now get water supply only once a fortnight.

Because of the acute shortage in drinking water, people across the state are complaining about the amount of water being reserved for VIPs---the ministers and high government officials.

This has prompted an explanation from the PHE department that VIPs are not being unduely favoured and that they are not given an unlimited supply of water.

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