Water sufficient in South Andaman till May 1st week

Port Blair, Feb 7: Andaman and Nicobar Administration today claimed that there is sufficient drinking water to cater to the needs of the people upto May first week.

''There will be no further curtailment of water and there is no reason to panic in regard to the availability of water,'' South Andaman Deputy Commissioner(DC) K S Singh said.

Mr Singh also said the water supply from the Dhanikari dam, the main water source, had been reduced from 58 lakh gallons on normal days to 41 lakh gallons presently.

''The general public should not pay heed to rumors being spread that the city is going to face dry spells from March onwards,'' he added.

The DC also said as per the instructions of the Lt Governor, the Disaster Management Control Room in the District Office of South Andaman had also started a 24 hour Helpline to solve the water related queries of the people.

''The Port Blair Municipal Corporation (PBMC) will ensure the supply of water through tankers in municipal area if demanded,'' the DC added.

About the short term plans for the augmentation of water supply, Mr Singh said 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 February 28,'' he said.

Restoration of ponds are also being taken up in both the tehsils and desilting of ponds would 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.

UNI