Water availability to last upto May 1st week: Andaman Administration

Port Blair, Mar 7 (UNI) Sufficient drinking water will be available here upto May 1st week with the current water supply system, the District Administration of Andaman claimed today.

''There will be no further curtailment of water and there is no reason to panic,'' said Deputy Commissioner of South Andaman K S Singh today.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the water supply from the Dhanikari dam, the main water source, has been curtailed from 58 lakh gallon on normal days to 41 lakh gallon at present to make potable water available upto May 1st week.

''However, the general public should not pay heed to reported rumors being spread regarding chances of the city facing dry spells from March onwards,'' he added.

Mr Singh further said that as per the instructions of the Lt Governor, the Disaster Management Control Room in the District Office, South Andaman, has also started functioning as Helpline for 24 hours for water-related issues wherein any person desirous of giving any information or seeking any assistance on water-related issues can contact District Control Room on telephone numbers viz 238881 and 231945.

''The Chairperson of Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC) will ensure the supply of water through tankers in municipal areas, if any demand remains while the APWD Chief Engineer will do the same in the for places outside the municipalty,'' the Deputy Commissioner added.

About the short term plans for the augmentation of water supply, the Deputy Commissioner said that 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 being made 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 with the technical support of the APWD.

''Restoration of ponds are also being taken up in both the tehsils and desilting of ponds will 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