Andaman turns towards World War-II wells to counter water crisis

Port Blair, Jan 20 (UNI) To counter the severe water crisis in Port Blair, the capital town of tsunami-hit Andaman and Nicobar Islands, authorities have turned towards nearly 190 decades-old wells, most of which were dug by Japanese forces during World War II.

''All the wells existing within the municipal area are being cleaned, renovated and new wells are being constructed wherever possible,'' Port Blair Municipal Council(PBMC) Chairman Sher Singh told UNI today.

Recently, the Port Blair Municipal Council has announced serious water curtailment in Port Blair after serious shortage of water in the town. At present water was being supplied once in three days in Port Blair.

The curtailment was announced following the fast dropping water level in Dhanikhari Dam, the lone water reservoir of South Andaman region.

''Due to inadequate rainfall during November-December last year, the water level at Dhanikhari dam has reduced considerably,'' PBMC officials clarified.

The PBMC Chairperson has also appealed to the public to use water judiciously.

Discomfort was growing among Port Blairians as rumours spread of severe water curtailment from next month.

The Chairman said the PBMC was making all possible efforts to mitigate the water crises of Port Blair town.

''Out of 191 existing wells in different parts of the town, 54 wells have already been cleaned and renovated while cleaning of the other wells is in progress,'' he said.

Most of the Japanese well, which still have water, were built by Japanese forces between 1942 to 1945, when these islands were under Japanese occupation.

''As many as 36 new wells are proposed to be constructed in municipal wards for the benefit of the residents in coming days,'' the Chairman added.

Environmentalists in Andaman have also expressed concerns in this regard terming the water crisis as ''man-made''.

''More tourists means more demand of water and water crisis is just a side-effect of tourism,'' said Subhasis Ray, Secretary of HELP (Health Environment and Less Pollution), an NGO of Andaman.

Mr Ray told UNI that at present a major share of water was taken by huge number of mushrooming hotels and lodges, resulting in water shortage for local people.

''We are opening up tourism and this year Andaman and Nicobar Islands have received more than 1,20,000 tourists, which is an abnormal rise in tourist traffic.

''If we invite tourists we have to give them water. Then what about local people?'' he said.

However, the PBMC officials refused to comment on the matter.

Meanwhile, political parties are also raising their voices against the water crisis. The Nationalist Congress Party has threatened to stage mass dharna in front of the PBMC building from February if things were not managed properly.

''The water circulation is pathetic in city and PBMC is responsible for that,'' NCP President in Andaman Uma Bharathy told UNI.

In remote islands of Andaman, water storage is the responsibility of Andaman Public Work Department while distribution of water inside Municipal area is under the PBMC.

UNI